Face masks become mandatory as Covid-19 cases rise

Islamabad: Amid a fresh wave of Covid-19 that seems to be hitting Pakistan, the National Institute of Health has reimposed the restriction of mandatory face masks for passengers traveling through public transport.

Due to the growing number of Covid-19 cases, the NCOC has made it mandatory to wear masks on all domestic flights, railways and public transport in the country.

NIH has urged all citizens to wear masks while traveling.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also reimposed the restriction of mandatory face masks on boards for passengers on domestic flights as the number of coronavirus cases are one again rising in Pakistan.

“With immediate effect, as desired by the competent forum, mask wearing will be mandatory onboard domestic flights within Pakistan. Remaining Covid-19 guidelines applicable on domestic air travels within Pakistan remain unchanged,” reads the notification issued by CAA.

The guideline will come into effect immediately while the airlines have been asked to ensure strict compliance.

A fresh wave of Covid-19 seems to be hitting Pakistan, with Karachi being the epicenter of the pandemic’s resurgence.

The test-to-positivity ratio in the mega city, on Sunday, climbed to nearly 22percent.

According to the data, around 949 tests were conducted in the city during the last 24 hours and 206 of them returned positive, taking the positivity ratio at 21.71%.

The other two most affected cities which went neck-to-neck were Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Hyderabad in Sindh with positivity ratios at 8.77percent and 8.51percent, respectively.

The positivity ratios in Islamabad and Peshawar are also ticking up. The positivity rates recorded there during the last 24 hours were 3.45percent and three percent respectively.

The health authorities have advised the people to restart following precautionary measures such as wearing face masks, sanitizing hands, and maintaining social distance.