LAHORE: An additional district and sessions judge was among 10 coronavirus patients who died in Punjab during the last 24 hours on Wednesday whereas 502 more people tested positive.

Punjab witnessed an increase of nearly 100 new cases on Wednesday, showing how rapidly the infection is spreading across the province with every passing day.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (Lahore) Azfar Sultan Ibrar Abbas died at the Services Hospital on Wednesday night. He was shifted to the hospital a week back after he contracted the virus.

An official of the health department said he was put on ventilator due to breathing problems on Wednesday noon but his condition did not improve. His court was earlier sealed by a team of the health department and district government after he was diagnosed Covid-19 positive.

The official said Qamar Yaseen Nadeem, another additional district and sessions judge serving in Lahore, had also tested positive for the virus.

According to the official updates on Covid-19 issued on Wednesday, most of the new cases were reported from Lahore 233, Rawalpindi 74 and

Multan 65.

Other cases were reported from DG Khan, Sheikhupura, Layyah, Gujrat, Sargodha, Rajanpur, Mianwali, Khanewal, Faisalabad, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh, Nankana, Okara, Lodhran, Norwal, Vehari, Kasur, Khushab, Jhelum, and Rahim Yar Khan.

The total number of the positive cases in Punjab reached 107,831 and 2,429 people have lost their lives.

Meanwhile, Lahore police chief Muhammad Omar Sheikh directed all divisional police officers to ensure implementation on guidelines issued by the Punjab government in view of smart lockdown. He said security arrangements should be ensured along with teams of health department and the deputy commissioner office.

Mr Sheikh said that the police personnel had been deployed in three shifts in the micro smart lockdown areas.Smart lockdown was enforced in New Muslim Town Block C, Gulshan-i-Ravi and Allama Iqbal Town’s Raza Block, Sikandar Block, Umar Block, Garden Town.

Similarly, it was being implemented in Cavalry Ground, DHA Phase 1 AA Block, HBFC Block B, Nishtar Colony, DHA Phase 6, Sector A and Sector L. Askari 11, Anarkali, Mozang and Shadman after they were declared hotspot areas.

According to the notification, all pharmacies, medical stores, laboratories, collection points, hospitals and clinics will be open 24 hours a day.

Country shops, chicken and meat / fish shops and bakeries will be open from 7am to 7pm. Similarly, grocery stores, general stores, flour mills, fruit and vegetable shops, ovens and petrol pumps will be open from 9am to 7pm, said a handout of the Lahore police.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2020