The local administration has rejected a request from Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to hold a public gathering at the Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore owing to rising COVID-19 cases in the provincial capital.
Deputy Commissioner Lahore Mudassar Riaz Malik while divulging details on the reasons behind the rejection of a request from the PDM, said that only 300 people are allowed to gather under the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs). “Even this permission is for the wedding ceremonies,” he said.
He further said that they could not allow a public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan owing to its status as a heritage site. “The ratio of COVID-19 spread in Lahore is witnessing an alarming surge,” he further said.
It is pertinent to mention here that COVID-19 cases have witnessed a surge in the country including Punjab province as the second wave of the virus had hit the country.
According to the latest figures, the coronavirus claimed 24 more lives in Punjab during the past 24 hours, taking the provincial death toll from the disease to 3,115.
According to a spokesperson for the Primary and Secondary Health Department, 670 fresh infections detected during this period, pushing the total number of cases thus far reported across the province to 121,753.
Of the total fresh cases, 301 were detected in Lahore and 71 in Rawalpindi, the health department said.
