LAHORE – Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Mondy announced a 14-day partial lockdown in the Punjab province as part of an effort to contain the novel coronavirus in the country.
Parks and public places will remain closed. Pillion riding will also be banned. However, the ban will not apply to families, journalists and other law enforcing agencies. The CM clarified that the government was not imposing a sweeping lockdown or a curfew.
The orders will remain in place until April 6. Addressing a press conference after chairing the Punjab cabinet committee on coronavirus, he said the lockdown would be enforced from tomorrow
March 24 at 9:00 am till April 6.
He added that shops of daily use items and medical stores would remain open while markets, shopping malls and public places would remain closed.
The CM said there were 246 corona cases in Punjab including 52 in Lahore,4 in Gujrat, 4 in Gujranwala, 3 in Jehlum, 3 in Rawalpindi, 177 in DG Khan, 2 in Multan, and one in Sargodha.
To a query, he said this was not a curfew but a lockdown, adding that the government took the decision in the large interest of public health by limiting their mobility.
