DefinePK

Description

NCOC allows reopening of schools in districts with less than 5% coronavirus positivity ratio
The National Command and Operations Centre on Wednesday allowed the reopening of schools in districts with less than a 5% coronavirus positivity ratio.

The development came after Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar chaired a meeting and Lt General Hamood uz Zaman Khan co-chaired it. SAPM Health, Sindh health minister, and chief secretaries of all federating units attended the session via video link.

The meeting reviewed the prevalent situation of the coronavirus in the country. NCOC chief Asad Umar presided over the meeting while Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, provincial chief secretaries and other members of authorities took part in the meeting as well.

A detailed review of disease prevalence in the country was taken, a statement from the NCOC said.

Following the meeting, important decisions regarding restrictions were taken after extensive deliberations.

From May 24:

Outdoor restaurants will be opened daily till 11:59pm and takeaways will be allowed 24/7.
The tourism sector will be allowed to operate under strict COVID-19 protocols. Separate instructions on protocols is being issued to all federating units.
From June 1:

Several sectors will be allowed to reopen, but a review meeting will be held on May 27.

Outdoor marriage ceremonies with an upper limit of 150 Individuals will be allowed.

Staggered opening of educational institutions from June 7 — other than those opened from May 24.

Meanwhile, shrines, cinemas, indoor dining, indoor gyms, amusement parks, contact sports, festivals, cultural and other events, and indoor/outdoor gatherings will remain banned till further notice.

The interprovincial public transport will remain for two closed days — Saturday and Sunday — from May 22. However, walking/jogging tracks in parks would remain open with strict adherence to COVID-19 SOPs.

Moreover, the NCOC decided all SSC and HSSC exams will be held after June 20, while conducting professional and non-professional exams would take place on a case-to-case basis on recommendations from the Ministry of Education.

The forum decided that wearing masks would remain compulsory, but innovative measures for enforcement would be taken. Implementation of broader lockdowns with stringent enforcement to be made based on risk assessment.

The current inbound and land border policy will stay intact till further orders. Gadani and Misri Shah industries would be allowed to reopen from May 20. Moreover, elective surgeries will be resumed from June 1.

"Critical monitoring of disease prevalence and critical health care system is being carried out on daily basis, and necessary steps will be taken accordingly, whenever deemed appropriate to control the disease spread," the statement said.

Sectors already functional from May 17:

Normal office working hours; 50% staff should be sent to work from home
Resumption of market activities with closure by 8pm.
The decisions were taken on the basis of the briefings provided by the provincial chief secretaries.

The NCOC had earlier imposed a lockdown in the country during the Eid holidays in order to stop the spread of the virus amid the deadly third wave.

Later, certain restrictions were eased following a review of the pandemic.

Pakistan’s COVID death toll nears 20,000
Pakistan neared another grim landmark of 20,000 fatalities on Wednesday when the country reported 104 new deaths from coronavirus.

As per the official data by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 41,771 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours from which 3,256 returned positive.