Amid a rapid surge in the number of positive Covid-19 cases in the province, the provincial government of Punjab on Monday announced a complete lockdown of two weeks in several areas of Lahore.

The nationwide tally of Covid-19 patients stands at 146,254 with 55,581 cases in Sindh, 54,138 cases in Punjab, 18,013 cases in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 8,177 cases in Balochistan, 8,569 cases in Islamabad, 1,129 cases in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 647 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The virus has claimed at least 2,751 lives while around 53,721 coronavirus patients have recovered.

Speaking at a press conference, Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid added that the areas will be under lockdown from midnight Monday. The provincial health minister further said the areas that will experience a complete lockdown for two weeks include Gulberg, Cantt, Shahdra, Shad Bagh, Harnispura, Nishtar Town, Allama Iqbal Town and Some places of Johar Town.

Food stores and pharmacies will remain open in these areas,” says Yasmin Rashid, and these areas will be reopened after the situation is assessed properly.

According to the health minister, more than 300 cases had been recorded in each of these areas which is why the decision to enforce a lockdown was taken. Dr Yasmin Rashid urged people to follow the government’s announced standard operating procedures to stop the spread of the virus and said the government has devised a ‘special strategy’ for areas of the provincial capital from where spikes in coronavirus cases have been observed, Rashid said the virus’ transmission can be reduced by up to 50 percentage if people wear masks.