The Covid-19 cases have been on the rise since the government lifted smart lockdown and reopened tourist spots for the visitors mainly due to visitors not following the SOP’s provided by government officials.
After the revival of tourism, a total of 372 new cases have been registered from the Hazara division in the last two weeks.
Hotels in Naran, Kaghan & Shogran Sealed After Staff Tests COVID-19 Positive
The officials from Mansehra district have sealed all hotels in tourist spots of Naran, Kaghan and Shogran after coronavirus found in different staff of hotels.
Authorities have sealed 48 hotels, restaurants and hostels as around 47 positive tests came while doing random sampling.
Maqbool Hussain the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Mansehra said the infected staff have been quarantined in the hotels and restaurants are also sealed for two weeks. Meanwhile, health department is actively tracing out those people who contacted the infected one.
According to Additional Deputy Commissioner, the hotels will remain closed until the situation will get under control.
Smart Lockdown suggested for the Covid-19 affected tourist spots
Kaghan Development Authority (KDA) suggested the govt to impose a smart lockdown in different hotels in Naran as an alternative to closing down the whole city to curtail the spread of Covid-19 cases in tourist spots.
The KDA Director Mazhar Hussain said that we have no options but to seal the hotels where employees tested positive. It also came to the knowledge that sealed hotels had reopened a day after they were closed by authorities. The sealed restaurant includes Moon restaurant, Diwan-e-Khaas restaurant, Cecil hotel, Mianmore hotel, and Pak Punjab Tikka house in Naran.
The authorities are very concerned that if these businesses remain open then the arriving travelers will be contracted with COVID-19 and carry the virus back to their belonging cities.
The KDA also suggested that a Smart Lockdown must be imposed on these hotels and restaurants to avoid further spread of the coronavirus.
While on the other hand, the Malakand division has seen a decline in coronavirus cases despite the arrival of visitors. According to official sources, around 627,000 travelers entered the Malakand and Hazara division since the reopening of tourism spots after more than 5 months of closure.
Image source
