Islamabad: An estimated 670,000 people could be infected with the coronavirus disease in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore alone, according to a report on Monday.
A detailed summary of a survey report about the threat of the virus to Lahore was presented to Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar last month. Geo News reported that the document contained results of samples collected from hotspots, residences and offices in Lahore.
As per the summary, six per cent of the total samples collected tested positive for COVID-19, the news channel quoted Muhammad Usman, Secretary, Primary and Secondary Healthcare, as saying.
In some towns, results stated that 14.7 per cent of the samples came back with positive results. The report said that there was not a single area in Lahore or its surrounding where the infection has not reached. About 670,000 could be hit by the COVID-19 in Lahore alone.
Members of the Technical Working Group, which carried out the exercise in the city by collecting samples to gauge how fast the disease could spread, have recommended imposing a complete lockdown in the city for four weeks and quarantining persons above 50 years.
The group has also advised the government to declare it essential for people to stay indoors and not venture out unnecessarily.
So far, the Punjab government has not responded to the reported document, which surfaced as the number of reported victims was sharply rising while Prime Minister Imran Khan indicated that more sectors would be opened up.
