Capital admin struggling to enforce virus prevention SOPs.

Byline: Munawer Azeem

ISLAMABAD -- The capital administration is struggling to impose safety measures in markets after the government's announcement that lockdown restrictions are being lifted and the administration's own notification extending the lockdown have created confusion among the public.

Officials in the administration said that while the government decided to lift the lockdown, the administration extended it until May 31 with exemptions, keeping markazes and commercial centres in private and cooperative housing societies closed.

But all these markazes and commercial centres have reopened without the administration's permission in the last four days, and the administration is reluctant to take action against traders violating its orders because it may face protests in response.

There is confusion among traders after the government announced its decision to lift restrictions, the officials said. They said this was why markazes and commercial centres that are supposed to stay closed opened without any orders permitting them to do so.

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The officials added that no safety measures are being implemented in markets, including social distancing. This is an ideal situation for the coronavirus to spread, as people have lost the element of fear, they added. They said people may comprehend the situation once it spirals out of control because of their casual attitude towards measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The officials said this situation has placed the administration in a dilemma, as it has to follow the government while also implementing SOPs to limit the spread of the coronavirus through people and traders. This, they said, was an impossible job that may lead to an unbearable situation in the coming days.

Senior officers have met with traders' union representations and standard operating procedures were agreed upon to address the matter, they said. These will be announced by tomorrow (Tuesday), and marakazes and commercial centres will be allowed to open accordingly.

New SOPs for commercial centres

Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat told Dawn he met with traders and the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce to address their reservations, including permission to open markazes, markets and commercial centres.

The meeting discussed strategies and...