The Punjab government has started considering the possibility of changing the smart lockdown strategy in the province, as Chief Minister Usman Buzdar was advised to implement complete lockdown after Eid, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Monday.

The final decision would be made at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday, as the chief minister has been told that the complete lockdown is better option to avoid increase in the number of coronavirus cases.

The meeting will discuss different issues including market timings, arrival of people from their hometowns to Lahore and large-scale testing after Eid.

The suggestion about a strict lockdown came as Pakistan is witnessing a constant rise in the number of coronavirus cases which has jumped to 56,349 on Monday morning. Meanwhile, the overall death toll has climbed to 1,167 since the outbreak of this pandemic.

As far as Punjab is concerned, Punjab has recorded 20,077 cases and 337 deaths so far. The province is second after Sindh in terms of cases and third after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh for the deaths caused by the virus.

The coronavirus is spreading at an alarming rate in Punjab where the number of reported cases was 6,340 on April 30 but nearly tripled since then as the figures has reached 20,077 in the next 24 days.