From Our
Correspondent
MUZAFFARABAD: Amidst rising coronavirus cases, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government decided on Tuesday to impose a complete lockdown across the region for a fortnight starting November 21.
This decision came during a meeting of the AJK cabinet that met Tuesday with Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider in the chair. The meeting was briefed that the coronavirus situation in the valley has worsened as Covid-19 positivity rate has gone up to 19 per cent.
There would be a complete lockdown in all AJK districts with a ban on weddings and other gatherings. All schools and businesses will remain shut during the lockdown. Strict screening at the entry points of the region would be ensured.
Besides, the number of employees in government offices will be cut in half as only 50% of them would be allowed to come to offices while the rest would work from home. The total number of Covid cases in the region stands at 5,538, according to the government’s portal on Covid-19.
The coronavirus claimed 33 lives across Pakistan in the past 24 hours, according to data issued by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday.
The country’s COVID-19 death toll stands at 7,193 with the last 193 deaths being reported in just eight days. The NCOC data shows Pakistan recorded 14,606 new coronavirus cases in the past seven days, bringing the total tally to 361,082 on Tuesday with 2,050 new cases. The number of active cases stands at 29,055. The case positivity rate also shot up to 7% this week. The recovery rate is steady at 90% as a total of 324,834 COVID-19 have survived the virus
