Trains, public transport likely to resume soon
islamabad — The government has decided to resume train services and allow public transport vehicles to operate with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus, a media report said on Thursday.
The Pakistan Railways is preparing to resume its operations. It will operate 28 trains in the first stage after permission is granted, said The Express Tribune report.
The trains will be washed after every journey, while engine drivers and carriage staff have been instructed to remain ready to return to work.
The district administration has formulated the guidelines for ensuing social distancing and other precautionary measures in consultation with transporters.
Meanwhile, Haji Zahoor Elahi and Asif Khan, leaders of the transporters association, told reporters that sanitiser walkthrough gates would be installed at bus stations,
The Express Tribune reported. Passengers will not be allowed to enter the bus stations without masks.
They further said passengers as well as drivers and conductors would be required to wear masks and gloves.
Passengers will be checked with thermal scanners before boarding buses and those suffering from any symptoms of Covid-19 will not be allowed to travel.
Resumption of flights
Federal Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said the government would soon start limited flight operations in the country.
Talking to a private news channel, he said that passengers would undergo thermal testing both before and after their flights.
He said a limited flight operation for Gilgit-Baltistan was already continuing.
Meanwhile, Balochistan Finance Minister Zahoor Buledi on Thursday confirmed that he has tested positive for novel coronavirus.
“I’m in self-quarantine as per doctors guidelines,” the minister said in a tweet.
The minister added that he was “asymptomatic and recovering”.
Meanwhile, the countrywide tally of Covid-19 cases stood at 36,549 with 13,561 cases in Punjab, 14,099 in Sindh, 5,423 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,239 in Balochistan, 482 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 822 in Islamabad and 91 in AzadJammu and Kashmir.
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