Pakistan restricts the movement of one million people under smart lockdown based on TTQ strategy
In a meeting chaired by the Minister for Planning, Development Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in Islamabad regarding the preparation for Eid-ul-Azha, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) observed that currently more than a million people are restricted under smart lockdown across the country.
The restrictions are a part of the implementation of the government’s trace, test and quarantine (TTQ) strategy in the high-risk areas that reported a high number of novel coronavirus cases.
NCO also looked over a plan to ramp up testing capacity, the media’s communication strategy, and the epidemic curve chart with projections for the next six weeks.
Under the directives from the prime minister for compliance to health guidelines, particularly at workplaces, industrial sector, transport, markets and shops, NCOC planned strategies to ensure the application of the protocols as per the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Breakdown of provinces and lockdown
- 904 areas under lockdown in Punjab with a population of over 900,000
- 26 areas in Sindh with a population of 50,513
- 572 areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a population of 67,000
- 29 areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir with a population of 670,000
- 10 areas in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) with a population of 60,000
- 5 areas in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) with a population of 15,000 people
The committee was enlightened that during the last 24 hours, over 9,800 violations of health guidelines were noted all across the country, whereas more than 963 markets and shops, 18 industries, and 1,186 transport vehicles were cautioned, fined, sensitized and sealed.
Thus far, nearly 160,000 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and about 60,000 have made a full recovery. During a period of 24 hours, more than 5,300 people tested positive for COVID-19 while 118 people lost their lives.
PM and Army Chief attend NCOC meetings
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday directed the federal and provincial authorities to take all possible steps to control coronavirus and ensure availability of medicines, oxygen and beds in hospitals.
The NCOC meeting in Islamabad was also attended by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. Apart from federal ministers, the prime minister of Azad Kashmir and chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan attended the meeting via video link.