Authorities are imposing smart and micro lockdowns countrywide as the positivity rate of COVID-19 tests has increased to an alarming figure of 6.3% during the second wave of coronavirus.

District health officer (DHO) in the capital territory of Islamabad has sealed seven more educational institutions on Friday after a surge in coronavirus cases in the city. These seven institutes include three private and four government schools and will remain closed for at least 14 days.

The Punjab government on Friday took the decision to put a ban on holding wedding ceremonies at the marriage halls across the province. The owners of marriage halls have been barred from arranging indoor events from November 20 to January 31. The notification issued by the local government further allowed to hold outdoor ceremonies with a maximum capacity of 300 people.

Authorities in Karachi on Friday decided to impose smart and micro lockdowns in all districts of the city. The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Shallwani which was attended by deputy commissioners and the district health officers. Secretary health Kazim Jatoi was also present in the meeting.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Friday refused to allow the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to hold a public rally in Peshawar due to increasing cases of coronavirus. According to details, the district administration has issued a notification in this regard, stating that a joint meeting was held with the organizers of the said rally.

Ceremonies and public gatherings are to be avoided as the Covid-19 positivity rate for district Peshawar has presently exceeded 13 percent, which is alarmingly high and any large public gathering is likely to further increase the spread of the life-threatening virus, the notification stated.

COVID-19 situation in Pakistan:

According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 2,738 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic both in terms of cases and casualties followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.

Till now 159,752 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 112,893 in Punjab, 43,259 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16,642 in Balochistan, 25,719 in Islamabad, 5,806 in Azad Kashmir, and 4,494 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Furthermore, 2,780 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Sindh, 2,811 in Punjab, 1,319 in KP, 158 in Balochistan, 266 in Islamabad, 134 in Azad Kashmir, and 93 in GB.

Pakistan has so far conducted 5,098,291 coronavirus tests and 42,909 in the last 24 hours. 327,542 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 1,517 patients are in critical condition.