Punjab is all set increase its coronavirus testing capacity to 2,500 test per day by Thursday (April 2), revealed Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid. She further added that the government is utilising the lockdown to increase the number of hospitals in the province and also shared the aim of the ministry to bring the figure to 5,000 tests per day in order to identify more people.
Punjab government introduced the Punjab Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Ordinance, 2020 reinforcing coronavirus security measures. According to the law, any private hospital or practitioner in Punjab can be ordered to treat coronavirus patients and anyone knowing about a potential patient has to inform certified medical officer immediately. Burial and transportation of these patients has to be carried out under restricted provisions.
The Punjab government on Sunday imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), banning public gatherings in wake of a surge in novel coronavirus cases across the country. Section 144 of the CrPc allows the State to issue temporary orders in case of emergencies. The move was notified by Additional Chief Secretary Momin Agha.
In a bid to electrify its public transportation, the Punjab transport department has announced that this year, they will be introducing 300 electric buses. The buses will be bought from China as well as Austria but there is no concrete time for when these buses will be seen on the roads, but the aim is to introduce them before smog descends on Lahore, according to Asad Gilani, transport secretary, Punjab
A child rapist caught in Pakistan has been extradited back to the UK to serve a 19-year sentence. Choudhry Ikhalaq Hussain, 42, is among a gang in the UK’s Rochdale who were prosecuted for abusing a teenager. He was given judge’s permission in 2015 to attend a family member’s funeral and used this as an excuse to flee to Pakistan.
The Flour Mills Association (FMA) on Saturday increased the price of flour to Rs64 per kg in the whole Punjab after an increase of Rs4. The price was increased after a surge in wheat price by Rs7 per kg, according to a FMA spokesperson, adding that the situation had gone from bad to worse after the government hiked electricity and gas tariffs.
The four provinces jointly provided a whopping cash surplus of Rs202 billion to the Centre during the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year to help meet its fiscal targets committed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The provinces did not utilise more than one-fourth of the funds for the welfare of their citizens made available to them under their total revenue.
The Environment Protection Department (EPD) of Punjab has directed that brick kilns using “old technology” in the province be closed immediately. The brick kilns will be closed in select cities from November 20 till December 20. The notification, however, stated that brick kilns using “zig-zag technology”, a design change that makes more efficient use of fuel, would be allowed to operate.
All public and private schools will be closed again for two days after the air quality in Punjab and adjoining districts surpassed hazardous levels. A notification issued by the government stated, “In the wake of dense smog, public and private schools operating within the territorial limits of Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujranwala districts will remain closed on November 15 [today] and
Human rights group Amnesty International has raised concern over the highly hazardous air quality in Punjab. stating that government has failed to protect people. In a statement, Amnesty International said that the Air Quality Index in Lahore had reached 484 at 10am today, whereas the threshold for “hazardous” levels of air quality was 300, where people are advised to “avoid all physical activity outdoors”.