The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has sought input of provincial governments for a two-week lockdown in 20 cities.
Pakistan’s top monitoring body wrote letters to the provincial authorities where the coronavirus situation is extremely bad and the restrictions imposed by the authorities have failed to stem the spread.
Within the past 24 hours, Pakistan has recorded its highest tally of both single day deaths and infections, 201 and 5,292, respectively.
The letter titled ‘Input / Feedback — City Wise Lockdown’ came after a meeting of the body on Apr 27.
In the letter, the authorities directed that a two-week city-wise lockdown in affected districts was cautiously planned and provinces need to carry out necessary planning at the earliest.
The most-affected cities where the lockdown could be imposed include Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Dir Lower, Mardan, Nowshera, Malakand, Charsadda, Swat, Swabi, Muzaffarabad, Sudhnuti, Poonch and Bagh.
The letter also comes amid warnings from the government in case people continue to flout COVID-19 SOPs and the third wave situation continues to worsen.
