ISLAMABAD: A single-day spike of 2,225 new cases of COVID-19 recorded on Tuesday, United Nations (UN) agencies have expressed concern over the sharp rise in the number of affected cases after easing of the lockdown.
World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) observed that the number of cases has risen after easing the lockdown.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in the COVID-19 cases since the start of May. On April 30, the total number of cases in the country was just above 15,000 but during the last 14 days, the number has risen to 36,807. The biggest spike to date was seen on May 9 when 2516 new cases were recorded while 2499 cases have so far been recorded on May 14.
The number has more than doubled since April 30 and more than 12,000 cases have been recorded during the last seven days which is almost double the number recorded during the previous seven days.
The government had announced lifting the restrictions on May 9 despite severe criticism from the opposition and certain quarters in the media. Long queues were observed in major markets of Lahore. Even Minister for Planning and Development, Asad Umar, who is also leading Pakistan’s effort against the deadly outbreak, expressed shock over the way people had reacted.
Talking to the business community on Tuesday, Punjab’s Minister for Commerce Mian Aslam Iqbal had also expressed dismay over the way the business was being conducted in the markets like Ichhra and Anarkali in Lahore. He had warned the business community that the lockdown would be re-imposed if the situation continued to be the same.
World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) observed that the number of cases has risen after easing the lockdown.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in the COVID-19 cases since the start of May. On April 30, the total number of cases in the country was just above 15,000 but during the last 14 days, the number has risen to 36,807. The biggest spike to date was seen on May 9 when 2516 new cases were recorded while 2499 cases have so far been recorded on May 14.
The number has more than doubled since April 30 and more than 12,000 cases have been recorded during the last seven days which is almost double the number recorded during the previous seven days.
The government had announced lifting the restrictions on May 9 despite severe criticism from the opposition and certain quarters in the media. Long queues were observed in major markets of Lahore. Even Minister for Planning and Development, Asad Umar, who is also leading Pakistan’s effort against the deadly outbreak, expressed shock over the way people had reacted.
Talking to the business community on Tuesday, Punjab’s Minister for Commerce Mian Aslam Iqbal had also expressed dismay over the way the business was being conducted in the markets like Ichhra and Anarkali in Lahore. He had warned the business community that the lockdown would be re-imposed if the situation continued to be the same.