ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army is to be called in for the implementation of the government’s mandated coronavirus standard operations procedures (SOPs) once again according to a decision by the National Command and Operations Centres (NCOC) on Tuesday. The Pakistan Army was last mobilized in April to enforce coronavirus safety protocols in several parts of the country after Prime Minister Imran Khan had sought its help in curbing the spread of the virus. Coronavirus vaccination is also to be made mandatory for domestic travel from August 1, a statement from the NCOC stated. “The decision to increase international flight operations has been made to repatriate Pakistanis stranded abroad,” the statement said, adding that the decision would come into effect from July 15. The move to increase flight operations will allow the government to bring back 2,500-3,000 Pakistanis every day, and all the airports and relevant authorities have been directed to make necessary arrangements to accommodate the passengers, the forum said. The forum has decided to impose smart lockdowns with the help of heat maps. The authorities in these cities also sealed hotels where they had spotted violations of coronavirus SOPs, the forum was informed. The forum also took notice of hotel staff and waiters performing their duties without getting vaccinated and not wearing masks, the statement from the forum said. Moreover, Pakistan has crossed the 20 million inoculations mark, the NCOC was informed, with more than 525,000 getting the jabs in the last 24 hours. It has been made mandatory for people visiting tourism spots to get vaccinated, the NCOC said. COVID-19 cases drop slightly Pakistan’s daily coronavirus case load dropped slightly for the second consecutive day after the country reported 1,590 new cases Tuesday morning. Statistics 13 Jul 21: Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 43,790 Positive Cases: 1590 Positivity % : 3.63% Deaths : 21 — NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) July 13, 2021 The daily case count had been on an upward trend since July 7, but the country recorded a slight drop a day earlier and the downward trend cont Another 21 people died of coronavirus in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, pushing the national death tally since the pandemic started to 22,618. Latest data issued by the NCOC Tuesday morning showed that after 43,790 tests were conducted on July 12, 1,590 people tested positive for coronavirus. Pakistan’s positivity rate is currently 3.63%. A day earlier, Pakistan’s positivity rate, too, dropped after being on an upward trend for six consecutive days since July 6. The total active COVID-19 cases in Pakistan are currently 39,644.