Metro bus services suspended across country over coronavirus outbreak

LAHORE/Multan/Rawalpindi (92 News) – Metro bus services in Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi has been suspended till next orders to prevent further spread of deadly coronavirus. According to details, the service was halted on the directives of the Punjab chief secretary. The provincial authorities have also deployed four employees each at all the stations to monitor the situation. The partial lockdown also implemented in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and intra-provincial transport has also been banned. Meanwhile, the Balochistan government is likely to announce regarding lockdown. The business centers, restaurants and public transport is already closed for three weeks. On the other hand, the number of novel coronavirus cases has risen to 799 with 147 more COVID-19 cases reported in the country over the last 24 hours. 352 cases have been surfaced in Sindh, 225 in Punjab, 104 in Balochistan, 31 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 71 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 15 in Islamabad; and one in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. So far a total of five coronavirus-related deaths have been reported while five patients have recovered. Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has announced that the province will go into a two-week lockdown at midnight tonight. The province has the highest number of cases in the country and the minister had already hinted. Citizens will not be allowed to leave the house unless it is essential and the ban also extends to places of worship. No more than two people will be allowed in a car, with the only exception being the allowance of three people for hospital-bound vehicles. The chief minister said he took the decision after consulting all political parties and religious scholars.