As the country battles the third wave of COVID-19, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has asked the provinces to ensure the strict implementation of SOPs to control the spread of the virus.
Talking to Dawn, Lahore Commissioner retired Capt Muhammad Usman warned that those found violating the SOPs will be sent to jail.
“We are passing through peak time of the third wave of the coronavirus that is spreading very fast in Lahore in particular and other parts of Punjab in general. Since many Covid-19 positive patients are being shifted to hospitals [in Lahore] on a daily basis, we have decided to ensure strict preventive measure to avert the further spread of the virus,” said the commissioner.
He added: “We have decided to launch a crackdown from March 28 against all those not wearing masks, besides flouting other SOPs. We have been left with no option but to arrest all those found without masks on the city roads, markets, hospitals, parks, shops, malls etc.”
As per reports, more than 400 first information reports (FIRs) have been filed against face-mask violators in Lahore with dozens of them taken into custody.
The assistant commissioner of Jhelum’s Pind Dadan Khan city came up with a rare punishment for mask violators as he made them stand in the scorching sun for over half an hour.
Punjab has already imposed a partial lockdown in the province banning mass transport, weddings and ordering markets to close by 6 pm to avoid the spread of the virus.
