As the countdown to Eid ul Azha begins, so does the chase to get the best deals for sacrificial animals. This year, the Eid comes at an unusual time in history, so it was expected that all pre-feast activities, including doing recce for the animal in the cattle markets, would be reworked. In this connection, a recent meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) members decided that there would be no maweshi mandis inside the city and the size of cattle markets would be shrunk. It also announced a strict implementation of SOPs to quell the pandemic. While the size and location of the cattle markets may have been duly regulated, it seems that the authorities have no control over the people thronging these places, who continue to disregard all precautionary measures such as wearing facemasks and keeping a safe distance. All this despite the fact that Lahore has been declared a coronavirus hotspot.