Tourist Spots To Remain Close Till Eid Ul-Azha: Sadaqat Abbasi

Member National Assembly (MNA) from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sadaqat Ali Abbasi Wednesday said that as part of precautionary measures against coronavirus, the government had no plan to reopen the country' tourist spots which would remain closed during Eid-ul-Azha

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Jul, 2020 ) :Member National Assembly (MNA) from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sadaqat Ali Abbasi Wednesday said that as part of precautionary measures against coronavirus, the government had no plan to reopen the country' tourist spots which would remain closed during Eid-ul-Azha.

Talking to a private news channel, he said government had been deciding to keep all tourism spots closed at least till Eid-ul-Azha because we did not want people to come in or go out frequently since that may worsen the coronavirus situation over.

He indicated that after Eid when the graph of coronavirus cases comes down, the government will frame a strategy to jump start its tourism industry that had been affected due to the pandemic.

He said we wanted to reopen the tourism sector, but meanwhile we were afraid that rush at the tourist spots on Eid could cause further spread of the novel coronavirus.

We were trying our best to overcome the challenges to revive the economy, he said, adding, everything was on hold, and we were waiting for the final decision to reopen the tourism industry.

Abbasi said that the condition of business in Murree was very different from the rest of the country amid coronavirus situation.

"The problems faced by business community and workers associated with the tourism and their demands had already been forwarded to the government and the final decision would be made after the Eid with the consultation of other provinces", he added.

He said tourism industry had suffered immense loss amid COVID-19 this year where white collar people were mostly suffered.

Sadaqat Ali Abbasi also urged the general public to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the upcoming Eid ul Azha, particularly at the time of buying sacrificial animals and holding religious congregations.

He said the immense challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak could be addressed through active support of all segments of the society as well as efficient coordination among the Federal and provincial governments.

He said through smart lockdown strategy government had controlled the disease and number of patients were decrease, adding, the purpose of a 'smart lockdown' was to provide relief to lower strata to survive economically along with fending off the virus.