“After approval of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the NCOC has decided” to impose certain restrictions in almost all the major cities of the country, where the market hours have been cut and office attendance reduced to 50%, Umar told a press conference. Under the restrictions, markets, which were allowed to remain open till 10 pm, would now again close at 8 pm in these selected cities. “The prime minister is totally against imposing complete lockdown from the very beginning of the pandemic. Under the directions of the prime minister, the government developed a policy of smart lockdown which proved successful in the first three waves of Covid,” Umar said. Since the pandemic broke out in February 2020, the national caseload of the contagion has risen to 1,039,695.

Source: The Express Tribune August 02, 2021 12:29 UTC