PESHAWAR - Authorities on Tuesday locked down another three localities in the provincial capital, and now there are a total of seven areas that have been restricted follow­ing the risk of coronavirus spread.

According to the Peshawar dis­trict administration’s press re­lease, the localities around Shin­wari Town on the Ring Road, Asiya Union Council and Circu­lar Road and Sector F-3 in Phase 6 Hayatabad were restricted for gen­eral entry in view of the virus risk.

A day earlier on Monday, con­trolled entry and exit was or­dered on University Road, Uni­versity Town areas, Danishabad, Sector E-2 and parts of Phase-1 in Hayatabad, areas on Charsadda Road, Afghan Colony and Eidgah following reports of coronavirus spread.

According to Peshawar Police chief Muhammad Ali Gandapur, more than 300 policemen have been deployed to be on duty 24/7 in shifts in the areas that are locked down.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, KP Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz, along with officials of the army, district administration and police visited the locked down areas in various parts of Peshawar.

The chief secretary was briefed about measures taken by the po­lice and district administration to restrict the business activities and gatherings after the enforcement of the smart lockdown.

Entry of public and gathering in the areas is not being allowed and outlets except those selling essen­tial groceries and medicines have been shut.

Actions against shops, markets and other places violating SOPs across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been expedited due to increase in the numbers of corona cases.

An official informed that 317 units were sealed across KP while fine was imposed on 1,156 oth­ers for violations of SOPs. A total of Rs1.06 million was collected as fine from the outlets.

According to the latest statistics, another 24 people died of corona­virus in KP on Tuesday, increasing the total number of deaths to 731 so far.

Similarly, 635 more people were infected with the disease, rais­ing the total numbers of cases to 19,107 in the province. Peshawar has lost 366 lives to the virus so far, with over 6,563 Covid-19 cas­es. Also, the numbers might be higher as many do not want to get tested for the contagion.