Pakistanis rushed to get busses home on Friday ahead of a ban on inter-provincial public transport from Saturday 8 May.

The ban is an attempt to contain a rise in Covid-19 cases and prevent the virus spreading around the country with people heading to home towns for the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

According the Interior Ministry, restrictions also include the closure of all tourist resorts, hotels, restaurants, shopping centres, parks, beaches and other public places until May 16.

Travel hubs leading to major tourist destinations, particularly the scenic valleys of Murree, Swat, and northern Gilgit-Baltistan, which normally attract hundreds of thousands of tourists during the Eid holidays, will also remain closed.

The video, shot on Friday 7 May, shows people and busses leaving a bus station in Lahore.

This footage was filmed and produced 7 May 2021.

Pakistan announced a new set of restrictions, including a blanket ban on tourism and inter-provincial transport, in an attempt to contain a further rise in already mounting coronavirus cases during the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday. According the Interior Ministry, fresh restrictions also include closure of all tourist resorts, hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, parks, beaches, and other public places from May 8 to 16.

Travel nodes leading to the tourist destinations, particularly the scenic valleys of Murree, Swat, and northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which attract hundreds of thousands of tourists from across the country during Eid holidays, will also remain closed during the said period, the ministry said.

The video shows a bus stop the night before the ban begins. You can see people leaving Lahore to celebrate Eid al-Fitr holiday.