The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) of Pakistan has directed provinces to start preparations for a two-week lockdown from the first week of May as the COVID-19 situation in the country worsens, reported The News International.
As per the report, the federal government has flagged several times that the imposition of COVID-19 preventive guidelines is poor across Pakistan and in case the situation does not improve, a lockdown will have to be imposed.
In the letter, the NCOC said that a two-week city-wise lockdown in districts and cities with high disease prevalence is tentatively planned with effect from 2 and 3 May.
“Therefore, you are requested to carry out necessary planning at your end,” read the letter. The lockdown is to be imposed in twenty cities of the country.
The cities mentioned in the list are across Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where the coronavirus situation is worse.
The cities where the lockdown is being planned include Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Dir Lower, Mardan, Nowshera, Malakand, Charsadda, Swat, Swabi, Muzaffarabad, Sudhnuti, Poonch and Bagh, as per the reports.
On Wednesday, Pakistan recorded 201 new COVID-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours, which is the highest single-day death toll recorded since the pandemic started last year.
The COVID-related deaths in the country have crossed the 200 mark for the first time. Over 200 succumb to the virus everyday. According to the official data, the death toll in the country reached 17,329.
