ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will expand coronavirus-related restrictions to 27 cities from Sept. 1, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Sunday citing growing pressure on medical facilities.
Earlier this month, tightened virus curbs were imposed in 13 cities — Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan in Punjab; Peshawar and Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Karachi and Hyderabad in Sindh; Islamabad; Muzaffarabad and Mirpur in Azad Kashmir; and Gilgit and Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Another 14 cities where stricter COVID-19 guidelines will be in place are Khanewal, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala and Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab; and Swat, Haripur, Mansehra, Lower Dir, Swabi, Swat and Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As a fourth wave of the coronavirus continues to sweep the country due to local transmission of the highly contagious delta variant, the restrictions will be expanded "in view of the current epidemic situation and the growing pressure on medical facilities," the NCOC, which oversees Pakistan’s pandemic response, said in a notification.
All commercial activities, except essential services including grocery stores and pharmacies, will be suspended by 8 p.m. Markets in all 27 cities will be closed twice a week, while indoor dining and gatherings will be banned.
Shrines, cinemas, recreational parks, and swimming pools will remain closed. Educational in schools will be allowed thrice a week with 50 percent attendance.
Public and private offices and public transport will be allowed to operate at a 50 percent capacity, and railways at a 70 percent capacity throughout the country.
The South Asian nation of 220 million people has reported 3,909 new coronavirus cases and 59 deaths over the past 24 hours. Over 25,600 people have died of the virus since the beginning of the outbreak in February last year, according to a government portal.
The total number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus is over 1.15 million. Over 5,600 coronavirus patients are in critical condition, while the number of active virus cases in the country currently stands at 93,504.
Pakistan has reported 3,909 new coronavirus COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising the overall tally of the infected people to 1,152,481 across the country, the NCOC said.
Pakistan's southern Sindh province has been the worst hit, with a total of 429,422 cases, followed by eastern Punjab province, where the virus was detected in 389,688 people.
