NCOC decides to expand stricter coronavirus restrictions to 27 cities citing & #39;
pressure on healthcare ystem'
ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
In a bid to control the spread of COVID-19 infection across the country, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday announced that it has decided to expand the current coronavirus restrictions to 27 cities of the country, that too beyond the earlier deadline of 31 August.
The body will review the restrictions on September 13. According to the body, the decision was taken in view of the growing number of COVID-19 positive cases and the ensuing pressure on the country's healthcare system.
The NCOC said that considering the situation, the scope of the implementation of the SOPs has been extended to 27 cities of the country. Previously, these SOPs were only applicable to 13 cities.
As per the rules, all commercial activities — with the exception of essential services — will be closed by 8pm. Similarly, there will be two safe days each week, which means that markets will remain closed twice a week. However, it will be up to the provinces to decide which days would be considered safe days.
Indoor dining will remain banned across the country, while outdoor dining will only be allowed until 10pm each day. Meanwhile, restaurant takeaway and delivery services will continue to operate 24/7.
As for wedding functions, indoor weddings will be completely banned, while outdoor wedding events will be allowed with a maximum limit of 300 guests. Outdoor events will have to be wound up by 10:00 PM.
Shrines and cinema halls will remain closed, while games such as boxing, martial arts, rugby, water polo, kabaddi, and wrestling will also be banned.
Indoor gyms will remain open to only fully vaccinated individuals, the NCOC said. As per the previous SOPs, all public and private offices will continue to operate at a 50% capacity. Similarly, public transport will also function at a 50% capacity. On the other hand, railway services will be allowed to operate at a 70% capacity.
Recreational parks and swimming pools will remain closed, while public parks will remain open but people entering those parks will have to follow the SOPs strictly.
The NCOC said educational institutions will operate at a 50% capacity thrice a week.
Pakistan has reported 69 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 1,152,481. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 25,604 on Sunday. Positivity rate of reported coronavirus cases on Saturday remained 6.21 percent in the country. So far 1,033,373 patients have recovered in the country.
According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 3,909 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
The death rate from the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan is 2.2 percent; meanwhile the number of recovered patients of coronavirus has reached 89.7 percent. During the last 24 hours 3,443 coronavirus patients were recovered in the country. There are 5,639 critical coronavirus patients present in the country. There are 93,504 active coronavirus cases presenting the country.
According to NCOC, Punjab province has become at first position in number of total deaths from coronavirus pandemic; meanwhile Sindh province is on the second position. Meanwhile Sindh province has come on first position in terms of total reported cases of coronavirus, active coronavirus cases and recovered coronavirus cases in the country. On the other hand Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has come on third position in terms of active coroanvirus cases. There are 7,980 active coronavirus patients present in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There are 49,883 active coronavirus patients present in Sindh, 25,558 in Punjab, 5,883 active coronavirus in Islamabad, 560 in Balochistan, 3,217 in Azad Jammu and Jammu and Kashmir and 423 in Gilgit-Baltistan.