Peshawar, Aug 23 (AP) Pakistani authorities have closed about two dozen hotels in a scenic tourist destination in the country's northwest after dozens of hotel employees tested positive for the coronavirus.

According to Maqbool Hussain, a district government official, Sunday's move to place high-risk areas of Shogran, Naran and Kaghan under lockdown was aimed at containing the spread of the virus.

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He said as many as 47 hotel employees who tested positive for COVID-19 were quarantined at the hotels where they worked.

The measures came hours after Pakistan reported only four new COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours, the fewest deaths reported in a day since March. That announcement raised hopes that Pakistan is on the right path to fully containing the new virus despite having a fragile health system.

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Pakistan has confirmed more than 275,000 coronavirus infections and nearly 6,300 deaths since reporting its first case in February. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)