PESHAWAR: The government has ordered closure of markets in eight districts by 8pm after surge in Covid-19 cases along with taking measures to stop transmission of the virus.

The restrictions were announced after Covid-19 positivity level surged in Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Swat and Malakand districts , said a notification issued by home and tribal affairs department here on Monday.

It said that playgrounds, shrines, all cinema halls would remain closed throughout the province. Fifty per cent employees of government and semi-government institutions in the seven districts would pursue the policy of work from home, it said. It added that wearing face masks was mandatory.

The notification said that anyone violating the standard operating procedure would face action as per law. In other districts too, strict implementation of the precautionary steps against Covid-19 were the only way to manage the third wave of the pandemic, it added.

It said that hotels would be allowed to serve only take away food boxes.

Traders refuse to comply with fresh SOPs, saying most customers visit markets in evening

The wedding halls and community centres would remain closed. Only gatherings taking place at open places with 300 participants will be permitted.

On Sunday, smart lockdown was imposed in Peshawar after positivity of coronavirus reached 10.4 per cent.

Health officials said that in a meeting of National Command and Operation Centre on Monday, Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz proposed restrictions in the districts registering more Covid-19 cases. They added that the chief secretary issued strict directives to all commissioners to ensure keeping away people from crowded places.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan will preside over a meeting of Provincial Task Force on Covid-19 on Tuesday to review the situation, according to a statement. He has also appealed to the people to strictly comply with precautionary measures to prevent the possible mass scale breakout of the pandemic.

He said that businessmen should cooperate with the government in implementation of the SOP at all business points. The statement said that chief minister was deeply concerned over the third wave of the pandemic. He said that it was more dangerous.

The chief minister directed the quarters concerned to ensure strict implementation of SOP, especially in areas where coronavirus were high.

However, the traders have declined to close their shops at 8pm and demanded of the government to review its decision.

In this connection, a joint meeting of the representatives of traders was held here on Monday that was presided over by Markazi Tanzeem-i-Tajiran provincial president Malik Meher Ilahi.

According to a statement, the participants of the meeting expressed serious concerns over issuance of fresh SOP for coronavirus and said that government was least bothered to take traders into confidence while taking decisions about business activities.

They said that shops were mostly closed in the evening but eateries and shops of tailors, hair dressers, shoes, garments and cloths could not be shut because most of the customers were in the habit to visit the markets after 8pm.

They recalled that they faced similarly situation last year during and before Ramzan and suffered heavy financial losses, but they were not compensated. “We have already started observing the SOP as per government’s instructions to secure ourselves from the deadly disease,” they said and added that special campaign should be launched to create awareness among the customers.

“We are peaceful people and will not become part of any political movement,” they said and assured that all shopkeepers would follow the necessary measures for personal safety instead of drawing shutters down at 8pm.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported total number of 76,104 cases since the beginning of the outbreak. The virus has killed so far 2,159 persons in the province. A total of 70,655 (92.8%) infected persons have recovered.

The province has 2.8 per cent case fatality rate (CFR), high than other provinces. The number of hospitalisations has reached 464 and 109 of them are on low flow oxygen, 324 are on high flow and 31 are on ventilators.

The province has administered Covid-19 vaccine to 29,000 health workers since February 3. A total of 2,982 healthcare workers have been given the second dose of the vaccine.

A total of 2,634 senior citizens have also been vaccinated in different centres. The health department wants the administration to implement the SOPs in the hot spots of the province.

Officials said that seven flights carrying 952 passengers, who arrived at Bacha Khan International Airport, were screened by health and Civil Aviation staff.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2021