LAHORE: The Punjab government has sealed seven more localities of Lahore on the reports of increase in Covid-19 cases.

According to a notification issued on Saturday, the sealed areas were F Block Johar Town, Asif Block Allama Iqbal Town, A Block Gulshan-i-Ravi, C Block near UET Lahore and some streets of Gol Bagh, Shadbagh and Sultan Mahmood Road.

Police and the district authorities raised barricades and circulated directions for implementation of standard operating procedures among the traders and the communities for two weeks. Police restricted movement of the people in the locked down areas.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 claimed lives of 19 more patients in Punjab during the last 24 hours, taking the total number of the deaths to 5,184.

The total number of the confirmed cases of the infections reached 166,776 after 534 more people tested positive for the virus during the same period. Of them, 301 new infections were reported in Lahore, according to a spokesperson for the health department.

He said that the department carried out 16,130 Covid-19 tests during the last 24 hours in Punjab while 644 patients of the virus recovered completely during the same period.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2021