Experts warn of COVID-19 spike in Pak's Punjab after SOPs violations on Eid

As 134 Covid-19 deaths were reported during the three days of Eidul Fitr largely due to violation of norms by the people, health experts in Pakistan warned that the third wave of COVID may hit Punjab over the next two weeks.According to Dawn, the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs), issued by the Punjab government to keep distance during the Eid prayers, were violated. People thronged the food markets and food points, which might cause massive transmission of the coronavirus across the province.

The experts fears that the number of new positive cases may increase sharply due to the Eid celebrations, saying that a large number of people travelled from major cities of the province, including Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi, back to their native districts/hometowns to celebrate Eid with their relatives.

On May 9, he said, the government had conducted about 15,000 tests and found the infection rate in South Punjab to be gradually increasing.

The official figures released by the Punjab government on Saturday showed that 2,472 more people tested positive for the virus during three days of Eid across the province, taking the total number of cases to 324,589, reported Dawn.

Earlier, a study, carried out by virologists, health and medical experts at the Punjab Public Health Reference Laboratory (PPHRL), showed that Punjab province has been facing circulation of multiple strains of coronavirus with visible dominance of the UK-variant.

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Sunday reported 2,379 new infections, as the national tally of coronavirus cases surged to 877,130.

( With inputs from ANI )