(Karachi) Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has announced that the government is imposing a complete ban on wedding ceremonies, both indoor and outdoor across the province from April 1 in wake of a drastic surge in COVID-19 cases.

Addressing a press briefing in Lahore on Monday, Buzdar said that the government has also decided to ban mass transit transport to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

He said the Punjab government has decided to reimpose a number of restrictions to halt the spread of the virus.

The chief minister maintained that markets and shopping malls across the province will close at 6 pm while there will be a ban on Orange Line Metro Train and Metro Bus services. He said the COVID positivity ratio has reached 14 percent in Punjab therefore the administration has decided to shut all public parks and ban dine-in services at restaurants.

The CM pointed out that smart lockdown will be implemented in areas where the positivity ratio is higher than 12 percent.

He said that the current wave of the pandemic was more dangerous than the first and the second. "Compared to the first two phases, the third phase is much more intense. Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, and Multan have more positive cases."

Buzdar stated that the positivity rate in Lahore over the last 24 hours has been recorded as 21 percent, which is alarming.

Earlier today, Punjab reported 2,309 new cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths. The tally of total deaths by Covid-19 in the province has reached 6,244. Lahore reported the highest number of infections with 1,478 new cases in a single day.