Pak sees early signs of pandemic slowdown, but on alert for Eid

dpa Islamabad Pakistani authorities on Tuesday said that there were early signs of the pandemic slowing down, but warned that the upcoming Muslim holidays...

dpa IslamabadPakistani authorities on Tuesday said that there were early signs of the pandemic slowing down, but warned that the upcoming Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr could reverse these gains.A downward trend in the number of people who tested positive for the coronavirus was recorded over the past week, after the country has been experiencing a massive surge for more than a month.At least 3,377 new cases and 161 deaths were reported during the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. The country has so far reported 837,523 cases of Covid-19 and 18,310 related deaths.“It’s too early to predict, though the data - the positivity rate and number of daily cases has seen a declining trend,” a Health Ministry spokesperson said. He added that there was a threat of an increased spread of the coronavirus during the Eid holidays.The government announced new restrictions for Eid to contain the spread of the coronavirus, during which tourist resorts, public parks, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls will remain closed, and there will be a ban on public transport from May 8 until May 16. Authorities have already called in the military to enforce restrictions.The body responsible for the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic also announced that international air travel would be reduced by 80 per cent from Wednesday at midnight until May 20.Pedestrian movement at border terminals with Afghanistan and Iran would also cease.Meanwhile, more than 2.7 million doses have been administered so far in the country with a population of 220 million.