LAHORE: Commissioner has hinted at going for a curfew-like situation in case corona continued to spread.
Answering a question during a media talk here on Monday about imposing a curfew in the provincial metropolis, the commissioner said if the situation worsens, the district administration has many options including imposing a curfew.
The commissioner announced that all markets were ordered to close after 6pm. He said joint teams will hold a flag march in the city to stop violations of working hours in markets. Deputy Commissioner, CCPO and army officers were present in the press conference called to brief the media on deteriorating situation of corona and the measures taken by the government to check it.
The commissioner said the number of corona patients was increasing every day and the health system was under immense pressure. He appealed the citizens to follow corona SOPs strictly. He said it was important for everyone to wear a mask in the city and in case of violation of the mask strict action will be taken.
“Everything is possible with the cooperation of the people. Corona can only be controlled by implementing SOPs,” he said. The commissioner said 50pc of the staff in the offices will be allowed to work. Offices that do not comply with the 50pc staff limit will have to face legal action, the commissioner warned. He appreciated the media and said that media has cooperated before and its cooperation was still needed to aware the general public about following the corona SOPs.
The commissioner also said that no one will be allowed to dine in services of hotels and restaurants in their parked vehicles. He said that there will be a flag march of law enforcement agencies in Lahore after 4pm on daily basis.
The commissioner announced that there will be a complete ban on inter-city transport services till further orders. Traffic in Micro Smart Lockdown areas will be brought to zero level, he added. He said police, army and other agencies will jointly visit all areas of the city to ensure the closing timing of six o’clock in the markets under the notification. “Anyone who does not wear a mask will go to jail,” said the CCPO. He issued a stern warning to the citizens saying that those who say there was no corona will be going to jail.
Meanwhile, sources in the district administration revealed that in view of the increasing cases of Corona virus, the army and police will take control in Lahore after 6pm. Sources said that all major city roads will be blocked and no one will be allowed to leave the house unnecessarily.
In case of emergency, the identity card must be shown, sources said, adding the government employees will be able to continue their activities by showing their office card. The army will patrol in 150 vehicles, sources claimed.
It may be recalled that a notification has already been issued to call army personnel with reference to corona. Under the notification issued by the Interior Ministry, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Punjab and Islamabad can request the services of Pakistan Army to implement Corona SOPs as per their requirement.
