1,637 coronavirus cases reported in Pakistan, deaths reach 7,000

Positivity rate of the coronavirus was 5.13% on Monday, the highest after August 5 when it was 5.67%

KARACHI: The rising coronavirus cases touched 1,637 in last 24 hours in Pakistan again while the toll from coronavirus reached 7,000 as 23 more deaths were reported on Monday night. The total number of cases has now reached 346,476.

Daily deaths started rising again in mid-October after which Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Faisal Sultan announced that the country was experiencing the second wave of the virus.

The positivity rate of the coronavirus was 5.13% on Monday, the highest after August 5 when it was 5.67%. The death rate from the virus, on the other hand, has increased to 2%.

, The highest number of cases were reported in Sindh followed by Punjab. Here’s the province-wise breakdown of cases:

Sindh 150,834, Punjab 107,329, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 40,843, Islamabad 22,110, Balochistan 16,152, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 4,830, Gilgit-Baltistan 4,378

NCOC announces new restrictions:

Following the rise in cases, the National Command and Operation Centre issued new SOPs for residents on November 7. Wearing of face masks has been made mandatory.

A ban has been placed on gathering at wedding halls in major cities across the country including Lahore, Karachi, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar from November 20.

People will only be allowed to hold gatherings and ceremonies in open spaces and a maximum of 1,000 people will be allowed to attend.

The NCOC has also decided to instruct government and private institutions to cut their workforce in half. Only 50% of their employees will work at offices while the rest will work from home.

The government will also impose smart lockdowns in areas affected by the virus.

Smart lockdowns in Islamabad, Lahore:

After a number of areas were reported to be coronavirus hot spots, the government imposed smart lockdowns in neighbourhoods of Islamabad, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.

According to a notification issued by the Punjab Government, the sealed areas in Lahore include New Muslim Town, Allama Iqbal Town, Garden Town, Shadman, and Askari XI.

In Multan, the entry and exit of Naqshabad Colony, Gulgasht Colony, Mepco Colony, Khwaja Abad and Sadat Colony will be sealed.

In Rawalpindi, the smart lockdown will be imposed in Satellite Town and Abbasi Abad.

A varsity, Fauji Foundation University, and a school, Kahuta Government Girls High School, has also been shut down.

In Islamabad, sectors G-6/2, G-9/1, G-10/4, I-8/3 and I-8/4 were sealed.

Schools, shopping centres, mosques and parks in the areas will be shut down. Medical stores and hospitals will be allowed to remain open throughout the day. Residents will not be allowed to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary and people without masks will be fined.

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