The authorities of the Pakistani province will impose a complete coronavirus-related lockdown in the worst-affected areas of the provincial capital city of Lahore in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19, Health Minister Yasmin Rashid said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th June, 2020) The authorities of the Pakistani province will impose a complete coronavirus-related lockdown in the worst-affected areas of the provincial capital city of Lahore in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19, Health Minister Yasmin Rashid said on Monday.
"Many areas of Lahore will be shut down 12am [07:00 GMT] onwards from tomorrow [Tuesday]," Rashid said as quoted by the Geo tv broadcaster.
Rashid noted that the areas will be under the lockdown for at least two weeks, but grocery stores and pharmacies would remain open.
The health minister urged people to comply with the sanitary requirements to contain the spread of COVID-19, adding that as much as 50 percent of infections could be prevented just by wearing masks.
The Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh are the most heavily-hit areas in the country, with over 54,000 coronavirus cases registered there as of Monday, according to the media outlet.
In Lahore alone, there are as many as 27,000 reported cases. The country-wide COVID-19 tally stands at 144,478, according to the Health Ministry's update. Almost 2,730 patients have died and 53,721 recovered.
