The timings of markets and shopping malls will be rescheduled again from today across the Punjab after Eid keeping in view the surge in COVID-19 positive cases in the province. The Punjab government will issue a notification in this regard today in which new shopping timings will be mentioned. It has been learnt reliably through sources that the markets and shopping malls will be open for four days only (Monday to Thursday) while there will be complete lockdown for three days (Friday to Sunday). The new timings of markets and shopping malls will be from 9 am to 5pm in the evening and they will be allowed to work for first four days of week. The shops of grocery items will remain open for whole week from 9 am to 5 pm while bakeries will be open till 10 pm. The medical stores will remain open for 24 hours daily.
The new schedule will be applicable from today after the issuance of the notification. The government wants strict lockdown during last three days of week and therefore markets will not be allowed to open during these days. The decision was made keeping in view surge of COVID-19 cases during the Eid holidays where people ignored the SOPs bluntly. The COVID-19 cases have crossed the grim tally of 10,000 in Lahore while more than 60,000 cases have been reported across the country with 1239 deaths. A huge surge in cases was seen after the government eased down the lockdown and some restrictions during last few days. The SOPs of social distancing were completely ignored during the Eid shopping and Eid prayers where people were seen hugging each other enthusiastically as the Corona Virus is nowhere in Pakistan. The SOPs were not followed during the Eid prayers in local mosques situated in every nook and corner of the country as the 3-feet distance was bluntly ignored in these mosques that are in thousands here. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza also hinted to impose lockdown again if cases continue increasing as the people are not following the SOPs and guidelines. Similar concerns were also shown by Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar who also said that the lockdown can be imposed again if cases refuse to decrease in coming days. It is worth mentioning here that 50 cases of corona positive were reported in last three days in the officials of Punjab Police who performed duties at the check posts during Eid holidays. In a whole, 607 police officials are COVID-19 positive in Punjab with three deaths.
Meanwhile, the traders demanded to increase the timing of markets and shopping malls for four more hours as they said that the closing time should be at 9 pm instead of 5 pm. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on Wednesday that the government must reconsider the timing and it should be from 9 am to 9 pm keeping in view the severe weather. “No one comes out in this harsh weather as the markets wear deserted look during summers and therefore we demand that closure time should be at 9 pm,” he said.