LAHORE: Punjab government on Saturday returned to full-scale preventive strategy adopted during peak of pandemic last year of imposing lockdowns and time-restrictions for markets amidst unprecedented rise in number of infections in a third wave of a raging pandemic in the province.
The smart lockdown has been extended in hotspot areas of three districts i.e. Rawalpindi, Gujrat and Lahore till March 21, March 24 and March 25, 2021 respectively.
“All commercial activities, establishments, markets and areas throughout the province of Punjab shall be closed by 6pm on weekdays and shall remain completely closed on weekends i.e. Saturday & Sunday. The order shall remain effective till March 29, 2021,” says notification issued by Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD), Punjab after having invoked Punjab Infectious Diseases (Prevention and Control) Act 2020 as an immediate preventive and expeditious remedy to ensure public health, safety, control the spread of COVID19 and conserve lives in Punjab.
The number of Covid-19 cases is on the increase in Punjab, positivity rate in some cities is constantly rising and third wave is looming, which poses a serious and imminent threat to public health. Hence, it is mandatory to take all possible safety measures for prevention and control of this disease in Punjab.
Therefore, in substitution of this department’s order of even number dated March 11, 2021, Secretary P&SHD, with the approval of the CM, exempted all medical services & pharmacies/ medical stores, bakeries, general / Karyana stores, milk / meat /chicken shops, tyre shops, fruit & vegetable shops, Tandoor, atta Chakkies, postal/courier services, driver hotels, petrol pumps, oil depots, LPG outlets & filling plants, agriculture machinery workshops and spare parts shops, printing press, call centers (with 50% staff and no public dealing), Takeaway/Home Delivery from restaurants, which shall remain open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
All type of marriage / event halls, community centres and marquees in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Gujrat shall remain closed with effect from March 15, 2021. Only outdoor marriage functions in open areas shall be allowed subject to upper limit of 300 guests and strict implementation of COVID19 SOPs.
For restaurants, there shall be complete ban on Indoor & Outdoor Dining in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Gujrat and only takeaway / home delivery shall be allowed in these cities.
The amusement parks throughout the province shall close at 6pm each day. All citizens shall use face covering in public spaces. All public / private offices and establishments shall follow the policy of work from home for 50pc of their staff throughout the province. All cinemas and shrines shall remain closed throughout the province.
There shall be a complete ban on all types of indoor gatherings while only outdoor gatherings with upper limit of 50 persons shall be allowed in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Gujrat and 300 persons (outdoor) in the rest of the province for a maximum duration of 2 hours. All types of sports, cultural and other activities and events shall remain banned throughout the province.
Industrial activities and establishments shall remain exempt from operation of this order. District administration and police shall work in close liaison to ensure strict implementation of this order.
This order shall come into force immediately and shall remain in force till 29th March 2021.
All other Micro Smart Lockdowns (MSLDs) orders shall also continue to remain in force till their individual expiry to curb Covid-I9 spread in high risk localities.
The smart lockdown has been imposed in 16 hotspot areas in Lahore’s five towns including Cantonment, Data Gunj Bakhsh Town, Nishtar Town, Samanabad Town, Shalimar Town and Wagha Town. The lockdown has also been imposed in 17 hotspot areas in Gujrat’s tehsils of Gujrat, Kharian and Jalalpur Jattan, while lockdown also takes effect in four hotspot areas in Rawalpindi’s tehsil Rawalpindi.