Staff Correspondent

Relaxing the ongoing restrictions for eight days from tomorrow for the Eid-ul-Azha, the government yesterday decided to enforce a stricter lockdown across the country for two weeks from July 23 to rein in Covid infections.

The decision came at a time when the country logged 12,198 new daily Covid cases and 203 deaths. A total of 1.34 lakh people got infected with the virus and 2,339 died in only 13 days from July 1.

The nationwide lockdown, imposed on July 1 to curb the surge in virus cases and deaths, ends today.

Health experts had earlier suggested continuing the lockdown, instead of relaxing it, to prevent further deterioration in the Covid situation.

They feared that the situation might turn grave in the coming week due to the relaxation of restrictions with the healthcare system already under severe stress amid a surge in patients all over the country.

Yesterday, the Cabinet Division issued a gazette notification relaxing the restrictions for the Eid-ul-Azha to be celebrated on July 21. It also issued a set of directives on the stricter lockdown to be imposed on July 23.

“For the Eid-ul-Azha celebrations, all the restrictions have been relaxed from July 14 midnight to 6:00am of July 23, allowing public movement and economic activities ahead of the festival,” reads the notification.

“But people will have to remain cautious and strictly maintain the health safety guidelines, including wearing face masks, during this period.”