Federal Interior Minister – Shaikh Rashid Ahmed has categorically denied rumors attributed to him regarding implementation of complete lockdown from Tuesday next week.
In a video statement, Shaikh Rashid Ahmed clarified that he only hinted that NCOC might mull over imposing smart lockdown in affected areas.
The federal minister categorically denied the rumors which have been circulating regarding implementation of complete lockdown due to significant increase in COVID-19 cases.
— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) March 20, 2021
“I never said that complete lockdown will be enforced from Tuesday. Rumors attributed to me are false,” said Shaikh Rashid Ahmed.
The development comes as Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity ratio reached 9.5% mark on Saturday (today). As per the NCOC statistics; 40,946 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours of which 3,876 came back positive, whereas the country reported 42 coroanvirus-related casualties during this period.
Pakistan is witnessing its third coronavirus wave with the total COVID-19 tally standing at 623,135 cases and 13,799 deaths so far. A total of 579,760 people have successfully recovered from the novel virus whereas 2,122 are still in critical condition. Currently, Pakistan’s active COVID-19 cases stand at 27,188.
