Coronavirus outbreak: Shopping malls, picnic spots to close across Punjab for two days

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar on Saturday announced that shopping malls and picnic spots will remain closed throughout the province for two days, as coronavirus cases continues to emerge in Punjab and other parts of the country.

Addressing a press conference, the chief minister said that the decision will come into force from Saturday, 08:00pm. CM Buzdar appealed to the masses to stay indoors so that they could be safe from the coronavirus.

“This is not a lockdown. The logic behind the decision is to maintain social distancing,” he said.

The chief minister specified that bakery, milk and poultry shops will remain open throughout the province.

Pakistan continues to see a rise in coronavirus cases

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan rose to 632 after Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported new cases in the province.

The number of cases shot up a few hours after Zafar Mirza said the total number of cases stood at 534.

“Right now there are 534 cases in the country. There are 104 cases in Punjab, 267 in Sindh and 27 cases in KP,” Mirza had said.

He added there were 103 cases in Balochistan, 30 cases in Giligit Baltistanand one reported cases in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, the Balochistan chief secretary had reported that the confirmed number of cases in the province had reached 104.

Sindh on Saturday also reported 104 new cases, taking the provincial tally to 357.

According to the Sindh Health Department, 89 new cases were reported in pilgrims from Taftan being quarantined in Sukkur.