ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday announced that it would relax the Covid-19 protocols in cities with “excellent vaccination progress.”
According to a notification issued by the NCOC, the decision was taken during the NCOC’s session on November 12, 2021. The meeting reviewed the disease situation in the country and the full vaccination status of various cities.
To encourage and incentivise cities with excellent vaccination progress, the forum decided that it would allow relaxations in the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), so that life could return to normal, the statement said.
According to notification, the cities where the vaccination progress is 50 percent and above where the Covid-19 protocols will be relaxed — include Narowal, Jehlum, Mandi Bahauddin, Peshawar, Bhimber, Bagh, Mirpur, Skardu, Gilgit, Ghizer, and Islamabad.
The progress where the vaccination progress is 40-50 percent in the cities that fall into this category include Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Sialkot, Mianwali, Kallar Kahar, Hafizabad, Rahim Yar Khan, Karachi, Chitral, Charsadda, Balakot, Jehlum Valley, Rawalakot, Muzaffarabad, Neelum, Hunza, and Kharmang Valley. The remaining cities were the progress of vaccination is less than 40 percent.
Per the NCOC, the NPIs will remain effective from November 16 to November 30, while a review will be carried out by the forum, NCOC on November 29.
Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity rate dropped Sunday below one percent for the second consecutive day for the first time since March last year, when the government started recording data on the pandemic.
In the last month, Pakistan has consistently reported a coronavirus positivity rate of less than two percent and less than 1,000 daily infections. Hospitalisations and the daily death count have also dropped, indicating an overall improvement in the COVID-19 situation in Pakistan.
On Sunday, the NCOC data showed that 263 people tested positive for the virus after 33,767 tests were conducted. This makes it the second consecutive day the country reported less than 300 cases of infection in a single day. The COVID-19 infections are decreasing in Pakistan, with 447 new infections reported on average each day.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021