NCOC decides to lift COVID restrictions in cities with low positivity rate

Islamabad: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday announced to lift the COVID-19 related restrictions in cities with a low positivity ratio.

An important meeting of the NCOC has decided to relax the COVID protocols in cities with less than 10% positivity rates. The restrictions would be maintained in cities with a rate of more than 10%, while indoor gatherings are allowed with a maximum limit of 300 guests.

In areas with low positivity rates, fully vaccinated people will be allowed indoor dining. Cinemas, shrines will be opened for fully vaccinated people. Indoor sports activities will also be allowed.

The NCOC released a list of cities with more than 10 per cent Corona positive cases where it has been decided to maintain sanctions. These cities include Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Mardan, Karachi, Hyderabad and Peshawar.

In cities with a 10 per cent positive rate, children under 12 will go to school on alternate days. Indoor events will be completely banned.

According to the NCOC, the ban on food and snacks on domestic flights will remain in place. 80 per cent of the trains and 70 per cent of the public transport will be run with passengers.

The NCOC further said that the next review meeting for areas with a positive rate of more than 10 per cent will be held on February 21.

On the other hand, Pakistan imposed new restrictions to curb the fast-spreading Omicron variant, hence, the positivity rate now stands at 5.40%. While, the cumulative tally of the country has now climbed to 1,488,958.     

Pakistan's daily COVID caseload mostly hover between the 3,000-4,000 range for close to a month now as the country continues its fight against fifth wave of the pandemic. 

As the fifth wave of COVID-19 intensifies, Pakistan reported 2,597 new coronavirus infections, a new daily record, with authorities linking the spike with the Omicron variant of virus.  

According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 2,597 persons were tested positive while 27 died in the past 24 hours— taking Pakistan's COVID death toll to 29,828.      

As many as 1,383,725 patients have recovered from the disease.    

Punjab
The number of patients swelled to 496,134 in the province with 13,380 causalities.

Sindh
The number of infections has surged to 560,036 in the province, while the death toll has reached 7,985. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The confirmed cases have surged to 211,112 in the province with 6,133 casualties.

Balochistan
There are 35,096 confirmed cases while 371 patients have died from the infection so far.

AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan
There are 41,978 coronavirus cases in the AJK while the death toll has reached 769. On the other hand, there are 11,116 cases in GB with 189 coronavirus deaths.

Islamabad
There are 133,112 cases in the capital city while 999 people have lost their lives.