In the ongoing third surge of novel coronavirus infection in Pakistan, the province of Punjab has been worst-hit.

• In the last 24 hours, the most populous region of Pakistan conducted a total of 22,624 PCR tests for COVID-19, out of which 2,789 returned positive. 

• The coronavirus positivity rate remained 12.3% in Punjab yesterday.

The last couple of weeks have seen the COVID cases skyrocket in several major districts of Punjab . The province of Punjab, alone, accounts for almost 50% of the active novel coronavirus cases currently present in Pakistan.

This has prompted the provincial government to implement strict lockdown measures in these regions on Monday from April 1 to curb the spread of the disease. These districts reportedly had a positivity rate of over 12%. These include Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, and Multan.

The provincial authorities have warned the public regarding a serious spike in viral cases and have asked them to strictly follow the COVID Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) put in place by the local authorities. Chief Minister Usman Buzdar while announcing the lockdown guidelines earlier this week updated regarding the alarming situation in these words:

Compared to the first two phases, the third phase is much more intense. Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, and Multan have more positive cases. Because of the third wave, hospitals are rapidly filling up and the health system is under pressure.

He urged the people to stay safe and avoid public gatherings otherwise the government would be forced to implement total lockdown.

Punjab's latest Covid-19 statistics as provided by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) are as follows:

Confirmed Cases: 223,181     
New cases (Reported in the last 24 hours): 2,789

Confirmed Deaths: 6,427    
New deaths (Reported in the last 24 hours): 62  

Total Recoveries: 189,856  

The Positivity Rate of last 24 hours: 12.3% 

Total Active Cases: 26,898