Following a decline in Covid-19 cases, the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (PSHD) Tuesday lifted all time-related restrictions on commercial activities across the province. According to a notification, businesses and markets in the province can operate 24/7 while adhering to the Covid-19 SOPs, including maintaining social distancing, wearing of facemasks and use of hand sanitizers. PSHD Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch said the notification came into force with immediate effect in all 36 districts of the province and instructed local administration and law enforcement agencies to ensure implementation of the SOPs. He also urged the general public to get vaccinated at the earliest to protect themselves from Covid-19, say media reports. “All eligible people, including schoolgoing children of more than 12 years of age, should get vaccinated as soon as possible, as it is the only possible way to stop the spread of Covid-19 and new Omicron variant, which has already been reported in 95 countries, with over 58,000 confirmed cases,” the official was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, the federal government has decided to lower the age limit for Covid-19 booster dose as a precautionary measure against the new coronavirus variant creating havoc in Europe. The National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) in its recent session decided that individuals over 30 years of age were eligible to get a booster dose of their own choice from January 1, 2022. Earlier, the Centre had approved booster dose administration for three categories, including healthcare workers, above 50 years citizens and immunocompromised population. The federal government had also announced strict measures over obligatory vaccination regime and advised the citizens to take vaccine shots at the earliest, as it was the only effective bid to prevent Covid-19 and its new variant. Meanwhile, countries across Europe were considering new curbs on movement on Tuesday, with German scientists urging maximum and immediate restrictions on social contacts as the Omicron variant swept the world days before the second Christmas of the pandemic.