https://arab.news/vw8td
- Authorities are closing shops and forcing people to stay home in areas where confirmed cases have increased
- Pakistan's well-loved former cricket captain Shahid Afrid has tested positive for COVID-19
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have identified and sealed off nearly 1,300 hot spots to contain the rising trajectory of new coronavirus infections.
The sealing of high-risk area comes as Pakistan reported 6,472 news cases on Saturday, the country’s highest single-day total. Pakistan has confirmed a total of 132,405 cases, including 2,551 deaths.
Pakistan put its entire population of 220 million under lockdown in March. The government has since eased restrictions, saying it was necessary to save the country’s economy, but it has caused a surge in infections.
Prime minister Imran Khan has resisted demands from experts to reinforce the lockdown.
Authorities, however, are now using the term “smart lockdown” to close shops and markets and force people to stay home in areas where confirmed cases have increased in recent weeks. Some residential areas were also sealed in the capital, Islamabad, to contain the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's well-loved former cricket captain Shahid Afrid has tested positive for COVID-19.
“I’ve been feeling unwell since Thursday; my body had been aching badly. I’ve been tested and unfortunately I’m covid positive. Need prayers for a speedy recovery, InshaAllah,” Afridi tweeted Saturday.
Afridi quit international cricket in 2017 and has since played in Twenty20 leagues around the world.
Former test opener Taufeeq Umar contracted the virus in May and has made a full recovery.
A former Pakistan first-class cricketer, Zafar Sarfraz, died during the coronavirus outbreak.