NCOC to Reassess Decision of Lifting Restrictions

Amid the rise in coronavirus cases and with the expected threat of the third wave, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) decided to reevaluate the decision to open schools, cinemas, and indoor wedding activities.

Held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, the NCOC meeting was held to discuss reverting to normalization in the country.

As per reports, during past eight days, the country has witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases with new 10,735 cases

Special Advisor to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan also issued a warning to remember that the pandemic is not over yet.

COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in Pakistan are increasing once again. The decline seen over the past 2 months is clearly reversing as positivity has gone up from 3.31% to 4.16% within a week. We must remember that the pandemic is not over pic.twitter.com/dakTCZlNWP

— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) March 5, 2021

National Coordinator Lt Gen Hamood-uz-Zaman Khan along with representatives from the provinces joined the session virtually.

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The progress of vaccination so far and the strategy for the national vaccination drive were also part of the discussion.

As per reports, the forum directed the provincial administrations to ascertain strict enforcement of precautionary guidelines, especially at grassroots level.

The officials in the meeting also considered deferring the decision related to the opening of schools, cinemas, dine-in restaurants, and indoor weddings.

However, the final decree has to be announced yet.

The NCOC session also discussed the non-compliance of the public in following non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

Whereas, last month NCOC had taken a decision to lift all strictures until mid-March that had been in place for almost a year, to curtail the coronavirus, after the threat abated.