LAHORE: In an effort to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Punjab government has decided to impose lockdown in the coronavirus hot spot areas in different cities of the province on the occasion of Eidul Azha sources said on Sunday.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafique to review the measures against the Covid-19 pandemic ahead of Eidul Azha.

The meeting also discussed the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) in cattle markets. The meeting agreed that the Deputy Commissioners will decide to extend working hours for cattle markets in different cities of Punjab.

The Punjab government had earlier imposed smart lockdown on COVID-19 hotspots in four cities of the province.

According to a notification issued by the primary and secondary healthcare department secretary, ‘Smart lockdown’ was imposed in different areas of Sialkot, Wah Cantt, Gujrat and Gujranwala.

Shops of essential commodities will remain open in the areas for the convenience of the masses. However, the cities will face restrictions on movement under smart lockdown strategy.

Earlier on July 10, smart lockdown had been enforced in COVID-19 hotspots identified in seven cities of the Punjab province after the strategy had yielded positive results in tackling virus spread in the province.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country reported 1,226 new novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally of cases to 273,112.

According to the latest figures released by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 35 deaths were also reported due to virus in the last 24 hours. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 5,822.

Pakistan has so far conducted 1,868,180 coronavirus tests and 23,254 in the last 24 hours. 237,434 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country so far.—INP