The National Command and Control Center (NCOC) announced on Friday its decision to close all wedding halls by 10pm.

In its new coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the NCOC has now only allowed wedding halls across the country to host events for two hours. Only 300 people have been allowed to attend indoor events.

Whereas, for outdoor events, the NCOC has allowed accommodation of 500. The center warned that halls violating the SOPs will be fined and closed down.

The statement said that if some public gatherings are unavoidable, then these must be organized with strict compliance of SOPs. NCOC said that it is currently deliberating on these guidelines.

Last week, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar had ordered a crackdown against those halls which were violating SOPs. He said indoor restaurants and marriage halls are emerging as high contributors to COVID-19 spread.