-Country-wide cases surpass 151,000 as recoveries lag behind 56,500
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: The provinces including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) on Tuesday apprised the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) about smart lockdowns and enforcement measures in various areas across the country based on Trace, Test and Quarantine (TTQ) strategy.
According to NCOC, more than 1512 markets and shops, 14 industries and 1466 transport vehicles were warned, fined, sensitized and sealed. It said that during the past 24 hours more than 12,400 violations of health guidelines and instructions were observed across the country.
In line with the prime minister’s instructions for compliance to health guidelines and instructions particularly working places, industrial sector, transport, markets and shops whereas NCOC daily morning situational brief was in progress where the provincial chief secretaries of all the provinces including AJK, GB and ICT representatives were participating through video link.
To ensure the implementation of the health guidelines and instructions and preventive measures including wearing of face mask in public as per WHO new guidelines on the subject particular special teams were operating all across the country to ensure that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) were being implemented.
The details of violations of health guidelines across the country and enforcement measures as under as in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) 865 violations were noted and around 153 shops and markets sealed and 321 transport vehicles were fined.
In Gilgit Baltistan (GB), around 218 violations were noted whereas 48 markets and shops were sealed and 53 transport vehicles were fined. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), around 5336 violations were noticed whereas in consequence 257 shops and markets were sealed, 104 transport vehicles were fined. In Punjab, 3682 violations of safety guidelines were witnessed in different parts of the province and 655 shops and markets were closed, 7 industries sealed and 834 transport vehicles were also fined on violations.
In Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), as many as 364 violations of SOPs and safety guidelines were noted where in its consequence 154 shops, 147 transport vehicles were fined for flouting the safety and health guidelines. In Sindh, 860 violations were noted whereas in consequence 41 shops and markets were sealed and 7 transport vehicles were fined on violating health guidelines. In Balochistan as many as 1,075 violations of safety guidelines were observed and 104 shops and markets were sealed for violating safety protocols. With 4,443 new coronavirus cases reported in Pakistan during last 24 hours, the national tally of the cases has jumped to 148,921.
According to the latest figures released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 55,878 coronavirus cases have surfaced in Punjab, 55,581 in Sindh, 18,472 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 8,327 in Balochistan, 8,857 in Islamabad, 1143 in Gilgit Baltistan and 663 cases have been detected in Azad Kashmir, so far. The death toll from the virus stands at 2,839 with record 111 deaths reported over the last twenty four hours. 25,015 corona tests were also carried out during this period. Forty-one more officers and personnel of Sindh police have been confirmed coronavirus positive on Tuesday.According to the Police Welfare Department, 823 personnel of the Sindh police have been tested positive for the coronavirus so far, while 229 have recovered their health from the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, eight policemen and officers have lost their lives while battling the deadly virus, so far. According to a report prepared by National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad and conveyed to Ministry of National Health Services, overall 4,195 health workers have so far contracted the virus across the country. As part of precautionary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Karachi administration has decided to impose smart lockdown in several areas of the megacity.
According to details, five towns in District West, Karachi has been identified as virus hotspots and authorities have decided to put these areas under smart lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus. The five towns include Gadap, Baldia, Kemari, SITE and Orangi. In a letter to Deputy Commissioner Karachi West, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Shafique Ahmad identified 16 union councils in Karachi’s West where smart lockdown should be imposed. In Kemari, UC-1 Bhutta Village which includes Saeedabad Masjid Road and Umer Khan Road, UC-2 Sultanabad which includes the Habib Public School street and UC-3 Kemari which includes Docks and Majeed Colony.
In Baldi, UC-3 Islama Nagar which includes Naval Colony, UC-4 Naiabadi which includes sectors 4C and 8B, UC-5 Saeedabad which includes Area 5G, 5J and A3.UC-6 Muslim Mujahid which includes Afridi Colony and UC-7 which includes Mujahir Camp and Kokan Colony. In SITE, UC-4 Metroville’s entire area has been identified as a hotspot while UC-6 Frontier Colony’s sectors 4 and 5 have been included. In UC-7 Banaras, Islamia and Subhani Muhalla have been identified. In Orangi, UC-6 Ghaziabad’s Christian Colony, UC-11 Data Nagar’s area 7A/B sector 8 and UC-12 Mujahid Colony’s Millatabad, Gulfamaad Aligarh Colony have been identified as coronavirus hotspots.
According to reports, there are 70 positive coronavirus cases in different UC’s of Gadap, 100 confirmed cases in Kemari UC’s, Baldia Town has confirmed 269 Covid-19 cases, while Site area has reported 221 cases so far. The district administration Larkana has also decided to seal 12 virus hotspots in the city due to the rapid increase in coronavirus cases. In this connection, the Deputy Commissioner Larkana has issued a notification to seal several areas from tonight. The areas which will be sealed include Shahi Bazar, Reto Dero, Jalbani colony, Bandar Road, Main Bus Stand area, Resham Gali. The areas will be sealed for 7 days. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah yesterday had sought proposals from the health professions to deal with the situation in the metropolis. The chief minister also sought data of the coronavirus hotspots in Karachi, the sources said and added that the government is likely to seal the worst affected areas of the city. The Balochistan government has extended smart lockdown till June 30 in view of the increasing number of coronavirus cases, media reported on Tuesday. The directives issued by the Balochistan government stated that all businesses will remain opened between 9:00 am till 7:00 pm on a daily basis.
Moreover, the provincial authorities have spotted hotspots areas in Quetta which were most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The head of Corona Operation Cell asked the provincial authorities to impose a complete lockdown in 20 areas for curbing the spread of the virus.
Earlier in the day, the lockdown in the province of Punjab was also extended by 30 days, ‘smart lockdown’ was imposed on the province after a long full-fledged version of the same due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. A notification issued earlier in the day by secretary primary and secondary healthcare Punjab confirmed the undertaking. The notification stated that the lockdown will be extended with SOPs, rules and regulations mentioned prior.
Moreover, the Punjab government also decided to put more COVID-19 hotspot areas in six cities of the province under lockdown. The decision was made in a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Punjab Jawad Rafique Malik. It was decided that other than Lahore, virus hotspots in six more Punjab cities will be sealed-off. The cities included Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujrat, Multan and Rawalpindi. The sources said that lockdown will be imposed in these cities from 12:00 midnight on Wednesday. A list has been finalized to lock down the streets of 32 areas in Lahore to counter novel coronavirus and will be presented in the Punjab Cabinet Committee meeting.
According to the divisional commissioner office sources, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar will formally approve the list in the session which will be attended by senior ministers, chief secretary, health minister, health secretary, Lahore Division commissioner, deputy commissioner, CCPO and cabinet committee members. The decision will be made with consensus of government officers and political leaders. Following the approval, commissioner, deputy commissioner and CCPO will adopt a strategy accordingly and lock down the respective streets by midnight. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan Tuesday said that the government would not tolerate violation of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to contain the spread of COVID-19. Talking to a private news channel, Ali Muhammad said that protection of life and property of people was the prime responsibility of the government and no stone would be left unturned to fulfill the responsibility.
