LAHORE – “Punjab Infectious Disease Prevention & Control Ordinance 2020” has been promulgated across the Punjab, enabling the government to take all necessary steps to prevent and protect people from novel COVID-19 disease.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar made this announcement on his Twitter handle, saying the ordinance also enabled the government to take action if any such epidemic surfaced in future.
“It is a tough time an we have to take bold decisions,” he said, adding that we can overcome it by performing out responsibilities as a nation”.
Here are the salient points of the Ordinance;
All private doctors and hospitals can be ordered to look after and treat the patients.
Government can impose any kind of restriction
Ban on sending children to schools and any other gathering
The government will have authority to impose restriction regard burial and shifting of dead bodies of coronavirus patients
Will have authority to shift and quarantine patient to a specific place
Authority to screen public at any time and at any place
Every citizen has responsibility to inform certified doctor about patient he/she knows
The ordinance has also introduced punishments and fines over not implementing the restrictions.
Pakistan leads South Asia with the highest number of coronavirus cases in the region, a total of 1526 (eleven of them critical) till Sunday noon, according to government data, after recording 31 new cases. Punjab has confirmed 570 coronavirus cases.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/19-Mar-2020/covid19-pakistan-confirms-13-deaths-coronavirus-cases-jump-to-1-526
