Covid-19 cases continue to escalate in Rawalpindi, Islamabad.

Byline: Aamir Yasin and Munawer Azeem

RAWALPINDI/Islamabad -- At least 125 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Rawalpindi on Thursday, while one person has died and 29 people have recovered from the disease while in Islamabad three more people have died of Covid-19 and 97 new cases have been reported.

Even as Covid-19 cases continue to escalate, markets and shopping centres are open to shoppers while standard operating procedures (SOP) issued to prevent the spread of the coronavirus are not being enforced.

Action has not been taken against shopping centres or shopkeepers violating these guidelines despite directives to this effect from Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.

A 62-year-old man who lived on Awan Chowk in Pirwadhai died of Covid-19 on May 21, two days after he was brought to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH).

Markets, shops allowed to stay open until 10pm in Rawalpindi to reduce crowding

As of Thursday, 75 people have died from the disease in Rawalpindi and 606 people have recovered. There have now been 1,997 cases in total, of which 1,316 patients are still receiving treatment - 412 in hospitals and 904 in isolation at home.

Another 512 suspected patients have been brought to Rawalpindi's three hospitals and their samples have been sent to the National Institute of Health and the BBH laboratory. The results will take three to four days.

The number of cases reported in Rawalpindi has been rising in comparison to those reported in the neighbouring three districts of Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal. Four patients were reported from all three districts on Thursday - one in Attock and three in Chakwal - while Rawalpindi district reported 125.

Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood told Dawn that a new notification has been issued allowing markets and shops to stay open until 10pm.

He said the longer shopping hours aimed to reduce crowding in markets, as many people visit markets in the morning and some would visit at night.

He said the Punjab government has directed district administrations across the province to implement SOPs in markets, mosques and imambargahs in the last few days of Ramazan.

He said people need to be made aware about the need for safety measures, as the World Health Organisation has warned that people will have to live with the coronavirus in the near future. He said people need to change their lifestyles and take precautions to protect themselves and their families.

Mr Mehmood said the number of Covid-19...