Daily Times

A complete lockdown has been implemented in the whole country except the Sindh province on Saturday. As per the NCOC decision, large markets, shopping plazas and entertainment venues will remain closed until May 16. Cloth markets, shoe markets and salon shops are facing closure.

The closing of mehndi or henna stalls means there would be no traditional celebration of chand-raat (a night before the Eidul Fitr) this time.

On the other hand, grocery stores, tandoors, milk-sellers, meat shops and fruit and vegetable shops will be open until 6pm.

For the convenience of the people, banks will also be open on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Commissioner Lahore Division Muhammad Usman in special message issued ahead of Eidul Fitr said that the purpose of long Eid holidays is to stop the spread of coronavirus.

“All kinds of business activity except grocery stores and essential commodities will remain closed till May 16,” he said.

The Commissioner said that all kinds of tourist spots will remain closed till May16, however locals of Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir would not face any difficulty to go back to their respective areas from Lahore.

However, all kinds of intercity and intracity public transport will remain completely closed during the lockdown.

DIG Lahore Sajid Kiani said, “From May 8 to 16, there will be a complete ban on inter-provincial, inter-city and intra-city public transport. Private cars, rickshaws, taxis will be allowed to travel with 50 percent capacity while trains will be allowed to travel with 70 percent.”

The national tally on Saturday of total active COVID-19 cases recorded 82,731 with 4,109 more people tested positive for the deadly virus and 4,957 people recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours.