Daily Times

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.

On September 13 the body will review the restrictions. The NCOC said that considering the situation, the scope of the implementation of the SOPs has been extended to 27 cities of the country. Before these SOPs were only applicable to 13 cities. According to a press release issued by NCOC all commercial activities — with the exception of essential services — will be closed by 8pm and 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. According to the press release, restaurant takeaway and delivery services will continue to operate 24/7. 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 10pm.

There will be a ban on visiting shrines and cinema halls will also remain closed, while games such as boxing, martial arts, rugby, water polo, kabaddi, and wrestling will also be banned.  Only fully vaccinated individuals will be allowed to visit indoor gyms, NCOC said.

All public and private offices will continue to operate at a 50% capacity as per the previous SOPs, and public transport will also function at a 50% capacity. While railway services will be allowed to operate at a 70% capacity. Public parks will remain open but people entering those parks will have to follow the SOPs strictly. While recreational parks and swimming pools will remain closed. It is said in the press release that the body will review the SOPs on September 13.

NCOC chief Asad Umar had said that the “targeted and staggered” decisions were taken by the government to contain the spread of the virus amid the fourth wave. The rate of coronavirus-positive cases in the country was reported to be 6.21% in the 24 hours.

According to the reports of NCOC, 69 people lost their lives to COVID-19 in Pakistan, taking the total death toll in the country above 25,600, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) revealed Sunday. The number of deaths from the disease in the country has reached 25,604, while the total number of cases since the outbreak has reached 1,152,481. There are 93,504 active COVID-19 cases in the country, while a total of 1,033,373 people have recovered from the virus.