Photo used for illustrative purposes.

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

In view of an alarming increase in COVID-19 infections, the Punjab government on Monday shut down the mass transit system including metro bus, Orange Line rail and speedo service in Lahore till April 11.

The stringent measures will become effective from April 1. All wedding halls and marquees were closed. Indoor or outdoor dining in the marriage halls and restaurants was banned. However, the facility of takeaway would be continued.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar told reporters after a meeting of the provincial corona committee that "effective lockdown” would be imposed in cities and areas where the positivity rate was more than 12 per cent. He clarified that the effective lockdown did not mean total lockdown.

He said that the corona committee would review the situation after seven days to take decisions necessitated by the emerging scenario.

The chief minister said the private transport would continue to ply. He said the government can’t close down the transport and construction industries.
All the sports and cultural activities were suspended. The parks were closed. The shops and commercial activities would be finished by 6pm. They will have Saturdays and Sundays closed.

Buzdar said that the government has set up 125 corona virus vaccination centres all over Punjab. He said hundreds of thousands of senior citizens and healthcare workers have so far been inoculated. At least twenty-two labs were conducting COVID-19 tests.

He requested the citizens to wear masks and exercise social distancing.

The chief minister said that the government was taking every possible measure to control the coronavirus spread.