Third wave of coronavirus: Visitors to KP govt offices banned, 50pc employees asked to stay at home

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday decided to ban the visitors to the government offices, especially in Civil Secretariat, operate public offices with 50 per cent staff and close inter-provincial public transport on two days a week after an alarming increase in the coronavirus case.

The important decisions were taken at a meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Covid-19 chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, said an official handout.

Besides provincial cabinet members Shahram Tarakai, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Shaukat Yousafzai, Kamran Bangash, Chief Secretary Kazim Niaz, Inspector General Police Sanaullah Abbasi, Corps Commander Peshawar Lt- Gen. Nauman Mahmood,the meeting was also attended by administrative secretaries and other officials.

The participants reviewed in detail the latest situation of the 3rd wave of coronavirus pandemic with special focus on the administrative measures to contain the pandemic including the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and enforcement of smart lockdowns, etc.

The forum members expressed concern over the increasing number of positive cases of Covid-19 in the province. They stressed the need for strictly implementing the SOPs and other precautionary measures, and took a number of important decisions to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Briefing media about the decisions, Special Assistant to CM on Information, Kamran Bangash said positivity ratio of coronavirus cases was at very high in 16 districts of the province where schools had already been closed, adding schools would be closed in other districts as well where positive ratio is 5.0 percent or above.

He said holding of marriage ceremonies both indoor and outdoor in the highly affected 16 districts would be completely banned with immediate effect whereas visitors would also be banned in government offices, especially in the civil Secretariat.

Kamran Bangash said though government offices would operate with 50 per cent staff, the ministers may run offices with less than 50 per cent staff depending upon the situation. The special assistant said before Ramazan, inter provincial public transport would also be closed on weekly two safe days already announced for the closure of markets. He said a ministerial committee would take the transporters into confidence in this regard and engage them to ensure the implementation of SOPs in public transport.