Punjab lets swimming pools, parks open in 26 districts

According to the Punjab Health Department spokesperson, parks, swimming pools and water sports were allowed after the approval of the Coronavirus Task Force headed by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.

Punjab Health Secretary Sara Aslam has also issued a notification in this regard, stating that permission was given after a clear reduction in the rate of coronavirus cases.

The Secretary said that SOPs would have to be implemented in parks, swimming pools and water sports while recreational activities would be allowed with a 50% capacity.

The Punjab Health Secretary further said that indoor dining would not be allowed in the entire province.

Earlier, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, referring to the reduction in the rate of COVID-19 positive cases and beds used by patients, said that the situation of coronavirus is continuously improving in the province.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore, the provincial health minister said that the number of patients returning home from hospitals has increased since last week.

"The number of patients admitted to the hospital is much lower than the number of patients discharged from the hospital, and the number of COVID victims is slowly declining," she said.

The minister said that only in 3 districts of the province Multan, Rahim Yar Khan and Khanewal the rate of positive coronavirus cases is more than 5% while in Lahore, which had become a stronghold of the virus, the rate has gone up to 1.5%. 

Elaborating on the number of beds and ventilators in the province, she told the conference that out of 2,897 beds allotted for coronavirus patients in primary care hospitals, only 410 are in use while out of 112 ventilators only 9 patients are on ventilators.

She thought that most of the ventilators in the province are being used in Multan with 67%, followed by Lahore with 38%, Bahawalpur with 32% and Rawalpindi with 16%.

The provincial minister said that the rate of beds in use in other districts has come also down significantly and in Gujranwala where the situation was very bad last month, the rate is now 20 per cent.