1,546 smart lockdowns imposed across Pakistan, NCOC told.

ISLAMABAD -- The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday observed that 1,546 smart lockdowns have been enforced across Pakistan as coronavirus cases across the country surged past 150,000.

According to the data released by the government, there are 58,239 cases in Punjab, 57.868 in Sindh, 19,107 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 8,437 in Balochistan, 9,2412 in Islamabad, 1,164 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 703 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). 2,297 people have died of the disease while 58,437 people have recovered from it.

The meeting, chaired by the Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, discussed the arrangements regarding coronavirus across the country.

According to a province-wise breakdown, there are 904 areas under lockdown in Punjab with a population of over 900,000, 26 areas in Sindh with a population of 50,513, 572 areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) with a population of 67,000, 29 areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) with a population of 670,000, 10 areas in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) with a population of 60,000 and five areas in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) with a population of 15,000 people.

The meeting was informed that 'trace, test and quarantine (TTQ)' strategy is implemented to highlight high risk areas reporting large numbers of coronavirus cases. The committee also reviewed a plan to ramp up testing capacity, the media's communication strategy and the epidemic curve chart with projections for the next six weeks.

In accordance with the prime minister's instructions for compliance with health guidelines, particularly at work places, industrial sector, transport, markets and shops, NCOC mapped out strategies to ensure the implementation of the protocols as per the directives issued by World Health Organisation (WHO).

The forum was told that during the last 24 hours, more than 9,827 violations of health guidelines were observed across the country, whereas more than 963 markets and shops, 18 industries and 1,186 transport vehicles were cautioned, fined...