LAHORE: As many as 17 more Covid patients died during the last 24 hours in Punjab, taking the tally to 11,305 across the province so far.

Similarly, total number of infections reached 369,358 in Punjab after 1,163 more people tested positive for the virus during the same period.

According to the Covid update released here on Friday, Lahore reported maximum 564 new positive cases followed by Rawalpindi 242.

It said the positivity ratio of the virus in Lahore had increased to 8.2 per cent, in Rawalpindi 12.5pc and in Faisalabad 5.8pc.

Following a massive increase in the number of new positive cases in Rawalpindi, the Punjab government has imposed a smart lockdown in 28 more areas of

the city, restricting movement of public and private transport to and from these localities.

The health department issued a notification in this respect and directed the police and the district authorities to ensure implementation on the Covid guidelines in the lockdown areas of Rawalpindi, a city where earlier the government had imposed a smart lockdown in 100 areas.

Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Sarah Aslam stressed upon the public to visit nearby centres for vaccination, being the only remedy to avoid the infection.

She said hundreds of health teams were also visiting in their areas to administer vaccine besides static facilities established by the Punjab government for the purpose.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2021