Pakistan imposes partial lockdown in some areas

Published On: March 14, 2021 04:32 PM NPT By: Associated Press

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, file photo, medical transporter Adrian Parrilla moves a patient into a COVID-19 unit at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, Calif. There are 3,250 people hospitalized statewide, a drop of more than 85% since peaking around 22,000 in early January, the state Department of Public Health reported Saturday, March 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

PAKISTAN, March 14: Amid a third wave of the coronavirus that is gripping Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, and the northern part of the country, Pakistani health and administrative authorities have imposed a partial lockdown in affected areas.

Punjab authorities fined scores of marriage halls and restaurants for violating restrictions imposed again to fight the virus.

Officials in the capital, Islamabad, warned citizens that they must wear face masks and maintain social distancing in public.

Pakistan has reported 605,200 cases, including 13,508 deaths.