Smart lockdown ordered in four areas of Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A smart lockdown has been ordered in four localities of the provincial capital with the direction to ensure controlled entry and exit to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

Interestingly, these localities include those on the University Road and Charsadda Road and Danishabad and Hayatabad and not the crowded suburbs or the congested inner-city places like Saddar and Nauthia. According to a notification by the deputy commissioner, the controlled entry and exit has been ordered on the University Road and University Town localities as well as the vicinity of Danishabad, Sector E-2 and parts of Phase-1 in Hayatabad and areas on Charsadda Road, Afghan Colony and Eidgah following the reports of the spread of the coronavirus in parts of Peshawar.

No general entry and gathering in these areas will be allowed. Shops except for groceries and medicines will remain closed. At least 6,393 Covid-19 cases have so far been reported in Peshawar while 351 people have lost their lives. Reports say the number of those hit by the virus in Peshawar might be higher as a majority of the people do not go for tests despite feeling unwell and having symptoms.

Before restricting entry to these four areas, over 180 places were locked down in different parts of Peshawar after corona positive cases were reported from there. An official said a total of 352 places were sealed in the district of which 170 were de-sealed after recovery of the patients.

The majority of the sealed places were in urban Peshawar. The number of cases and deaths are on the rise in Peshawar and rest of Khyber Pàkhtunkhwa and Pakistan.

A sudden spike has been being witnessed for the last couple of weeks. The district administration and police in Peshawar have accelerated actions against those not observing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for social distancing across the province.

Markets, shops and other outlets are being fined for not following SOPs. Individuals are also being fined for not wearing facemasks now made mandatory to prevent the spread of the virus. Up to 5,415 units have been sealed across KP in the last two weeks while fine was imposed on 44,183 others. As many as 68,176 shops and vendors were issued warnings for not wearing masks and violating SOPs.