Multan: The district administration of Multan has sealed 18 markets over violation of coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

According to details, the district administration along with officials of Pakistan army conducted raids in various parts of city and sealed 18 markets over SOPs violation.

The operation was conducted on Wednesday following which heavy fines have also been imposed on the shop owners. Fine of Rs30, 000 was imposed on business centres for allowing people inside without masks and not maintaining social distancing.

An official familiar with the conducted operation stated, “We have a zero-tolerance policy against violation of government’s order”.

The positivity rate in Pakistan has increased to 5.2%.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has reported a steep rise in daily coronavirus cases amid fears of fourth wave.

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 2,545 cases of coronavirus were reported while 47 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 22,689.

The total number of confirmed cases reached to 981,392. As many as 916,373 patients have recovered from the disease with 2,258 critical cases.