ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s planning minister Asad Umar on Sunday warned people not to go to tourist areas within the country during the Eid holidays, and said anyone who tried ‘will be turned back.’
In a tweet, Umar, who also heads a federal body overseeing Pakistan's pandemic response, said:
“In NCOC meeting today, chief secretaries from federating units which have popular tourist destinations, requested to remind everyone that tourist areas are closed from 8th to 16th, so please do not come, or you will be turned back.”
In the middle of a third wave of COVID-19, Pakistan announced a new set of restrictions earlier this month which includes the closure of all tourist resorts from May 8 to 16.
Every year in the Eid holidays, Pakistanis from southern regions throng to the northern areas and hill stations of the country to enjoy the good weather.Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi urged Pakistanis to follow the standard operating procedures (SOP’s) set up by the government to control the virus spread and to stop the third wave of COVID-19 from getting worse.
“Don't let your guard down. Strictly follow SOP’s, in Ramadan/Eid & all Smart Lockdown Policies,” the President’s tweet read.
The South Asian country of over 220 million people reported 118 deaths and 3,785 new confirmed cases over the last 24 hours on Sunday. Since the start of the pandemic in February last year, Pakistan has reported 18,915 deaths from COVID-19 among 858,026 confirmed cases.
In neighboring India, a record number of daily cases have been reported in the last month as the healthcare infrastructure in some Indian cities has completely collapsed, according to reports.