Government Proposes Implementing a “Smart Lockdown” in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: With the increasing number and cases of the coronavirus patients in Pakistan, The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has called for the government to implement a smart lockdown across the country that targets sealing the areas that are hotspots of COVID-19 cases.

It was also suggested that the testing capacity be increased significantly so a just and fair decision can be made in locking down only those localities from where new cases are being reported.

While addressing to a news conference on Sunday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security, Dr Moeed Yusuf said,

“With an enhanced testing capacity, the government will be able to trace and test asymptomatic people who have come into contact with coronavirus patients,”

“We have opened some industries but they also need to ensure social distancing among their employees. This will help us identify virus hotspots in the country and then only those areas will be sealed off allowing the government to move towards a smart lockdown,” he added.

With the smart lockdown strategy, the government hopes that the economic crisis would ameliorate across the country and industrial business can resume.

As of now, the confirmed cases of people affected by COVID-19 has surpassed 8,000 with 20 confirmed.