NCOC announces new restrictions as COVID-19 cases surge

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced revised restrictions for a number of cities as the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic gains strength.

Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), he said the government took “targeted and staggered” decisions to contain the outbreak.

He said the virus had spread rapidly in the past week, with COVID-19 cases, positivity ratio, and hospitalisations both witnessing a spike. “The latest decisions have been taken with the prime minister’s permission as virus cases and positivity ratio has increased,” he added.

According to the new guidelines, markets will now be closed at 8pm instead of 10pm and the government has also decided to resume the 50pc work from home policy.

Indoor and outdoor dining has also been closed, with delivery and takeaway permitted. Public transport to operate with 50pc occupancy. Two days in a week to be observed as safe days with provinces free to choose

The new restrictions, which will last from August 3 to Aug 31 will apply to Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan in Punjab; Peshawar and Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Karachi and Hyderabad in Sindh; Islamabad; Muzaffarabad and Mirpur in Azad Kashmir; and Gilgit and Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Nearly 5,000 new infections

Meanwhile, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) today (Monday) informed that at least 40 more patients of COVID-19 died overnight and 4,858 new cases emerged across the country.

According to the latest statistics, 56,414 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 4,858 were confirmed to be positive.

The rate of positive cases in the country is 8.61%, which is the highest positivity rate since May 17. The number of deaths has risen to 23,462 and the total number of cases has reached 1,039,965.