Essential commodities shops in KP to close by 4pm in Ramazan

PESHAWAR: During the month of Ramazan, the shops of essential commodities already exempted from lockdown will be closed by 4pm every day.

These essential shops, including grocery stores, vegetables, fruit and milk shops will remain opened from early morning to 4pm. The decision will also be applicable to restaurants for home delivery and take away services only. However, medical stores will be exempted from the decision and will remain opened 24/7. The decision will remain enforced from today (Saturday).

This was decided in a meeting of Provincial Task Force on COVID-19 held here on Friday with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair. Provincial Ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Shaukat Yousafzai and Advisor to CM Ajmal Wazir, Corps Commander Peshawar Lt-Gen Nauman Mahmood, Chief Secretary Kazim Niaz, Inspector General of Police Sanaullah Abbasi, others military and civil officers attended the meeting. Briefing the media about the decision of Task Force meeting, Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Ajmal Wazir said that it had been decided to make the use of face mask in public places as mandatory.

They added that for next one week people will be persuaded and educated to use face mask and after that the decision would be implemented strictly. The meeting also decided that implementation of social distancing and other precautionary measures in the exempted shops would be monitored closely and shops not implementing social distancing measures would be sealed immediately. The participants of the meeting were informed that to ensure the implementation of SOPs formulated at national level for offering prayers in mosques, committees would be constituted at provincial, divisional and district level to engage the local ulema for the purpose.

The meeting expressing concern over the increasing number of corona cases in some districts, and stressed the need for strict checking at all entry points of the sensitive cities to discourage the visits of people without any solid reason to these high risk cities.

Later, the chief minister through video link also attended the meeting of National Coordination Committee presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan and briefed the forum about the decision taken in the Task Force Meeting.