ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and the most populous province, Punjab, imposed partial lockdowns on Sunday to stop the spread of the coronavirus as a third viral wave has taken root in the country.
Pakistan has reported 605,200 cases, including 13,508 deaths as of Sunday. At least 2,664 have tested positive for COVID-19 and 32 have died from the disease in the past 24 hours.
The increase in COVID-19 cases comes after the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s coronavirus response, last month eased most of virus-related restrictions, allowing commercial activities and workplaces to function at full strength.
Planning Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC said last week there was “no doubt” Pakistan was going through a third wave of the coronavirus as the surge in infections is driven mostly by the spread of a United Kingdom variant of the disease in the country.
The new strain, identified in the UK last year, is up to 70 percent more infectious than other variants. It is already present in Punjab and the neighboring capital city.
"More areas are expected to be locked down. New UK variant strain is prevalent in Islamabad," Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Muhammed Hamza Shafqaat said in a series of tweets.
The capital city's areas that are under lockdown from Sunday are Sector F-11/1, Sector I-8/4 and Sector I-10/2, where a surge in COVID-19 cases was reported.
Restrictions have been tightened in other parts of the capital, with all indoor activity being banned, outdoor functions allowed for two hours with less than 300 people, and offices in the capital not allowed to call more than 50 percent of their staff.
A while after sharing the new restriction, Shafqaat announced that amid the infection surge in the capital he had also contracted the virus.
In Punjab, where 60 percent of new COVID-19 cases have been reported and the UK strain has been detected in most areas, smart lockdowns were imposed in Lahore, Gujarat, and Rawalpindi — Islamabad's twin city.