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Coronavirus in Pakistan

Itachi said:
If no restriction in movement to and from other places, isn't it becoming like a time bomb?
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It is. There are talks now that karachi might go into a full lockdown with a decision expected on Friday I think. The damage was done during Eid though and I think the authorities are just realising how desperate the situation is. If I’m not mistaken I don’t think Pakistan has ever done a full lockdown before, only smart lockdowns. So that shows you the seriousness
 
gkb101277867 said:
It is. There are talks now that karachi might go into a full lockdown with a decision expected on Friday I think. The damage was done during Eid though and I think the authorities are just realising how desperate the situation is. If I’m not mistaken I don’t think Pakistan has ever done a full lockdown before, only smart lockdowns. So that shows you the seriousness
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smart lockdown works when positivity hovers around 5-7% I think. if it's 30%, it can go worse pretty quick.

Hopefully, people will recover and casualties remain minimal.
 
gkb101277867 said:
Actually it takes at least 7 to 14 days for an increase in cases to be reflected in the numbers after a specific event. The first day of Eid in pakistan was the 21st of July and the latest figures to be released are from the 27th of July so any increase will start to show now. There has been a significant increase in reported cases in the latest figures as 4119 new cases have been reported with a positivity rate of 7.8%.
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Oh man.

Do you know how this eid works. The bakra mandis have been going in full boom since start of July and thats why there is such an increase in cases which is already showing. Bakra mandis which happen for weeks before eid are bigger culprit than the eid itself in this case.
 
gkb101277867 said:
It is. There are talks now that karachi might go into a full lockdown with a decision expected on Friday I think. The damage was done during Eid though and I think the authorities are just realising how desperate the situation is. If I’m not mistaken I don’t think Pakistan has ever done a full lockdown before, only smart lockdowns. So that shows you the seriousness
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Pakistan did in March 2020 to May 2020. But yea since then it’s only been full lockdown.

According to my cousin Karachi has lockdown starting from 6pm right now which may be moved to all day.
 
https://www.dawn.com/news/1637581/closing-down-cities-for-weeks-not-the-solution-to-tackle-4th-wave-asad-umar

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday said that closing down entire cities for weeks was not the solution to curbing the spread of the disease.

Pakistan is currently experiencing a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic that has seen the number of infections as well as fatalities jump up steadily across the country, but particularly in Karachi and Sindh, where the provincial government is reportedly mulling a complete lockdown.

Briefing the media alongside Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan today after a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the minister said that Pakistan was among the world's first few countries to realise that closing down the country was not an effective way to battle the pandemic.

"We realised that the working class, the labourers have to pay the price of this," he said.

He said that Pakistan's tried-and-tested strategy — based on data and experience — needed to be followed. "Closing down entire cities for weeks is not the solution."

Umar said that following of the SOPs and enforcing lockdowns in hotspot areas was the only way to tackle the spread of the deadly virus. "We have seen success with this [strategy] time and again."

The minister said the Sindh government was "on the right path" with its handling of the situation in Karachi and monitoring the cases "actively".

He rued that some citizens were still not taking the virus seriously and have not realised that their actions have consequences.

"In Ramazan, we worked on SOP enforcement on a huge scale and saw an improvement in the spread of the disease," Umar said. "But just as it begins to recede, some people start thinking that it has completely gone away or forget that our own actions are directly related to the virus spread."

Sharing the statistics, the minister said that currently Islamabad's SOP compliance was 56.4 per cent, 46.6pc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 42.7 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 37.4pc in Gilgit-Baltistan and 38pc in Punjab. Sindh and Balochistan have the lowest SOP compliance at 33pc, he said.

Students, LEAs given Aug 31 deadline for vaccination

During the press conference, the minister also announced that the NCOC has decided to set an August 31 vaccination deadline for "high risk" sectors.

He said that students above 18 years of age, those working in the transport sector, public sector employees, law enforcement agencies, and staff working at hotels, restaurants, wedding halls, shopping malls and banks will have to get inoculated by August 31.

Meanwhile, teachers will have to get vaccinated by August 1 to continue working at educational institutions. He added that those who have not been vaccinated will also not be allowed to undertake domestic air travel.

The minister said that the government has taken the steps to protect the livelihoods of the people associated with these sectors.

Number of cases, fatalities rise as 4th wave continues

Pakistan has reported 76 coronavirus-related fatalities during the past 24 hours — the highest daily death toll reported in the country since June 9, when the same number of Covid-19 deaths were reported.

The total number of deaths stemming from the coronavirus now stands at 23,209, according to the National Command and Control Centre, which oversees the government's pandemic response.

Meanwhile, over 4,000 new infections have been reported in the country for the second-straight day. It is the highest daily infections tally since May 1, when 4,414 Covid-19 cases were recorded. Pakistan has reported 4,497 new cases, up from 4,112 a day earlier, which have swelled the total disease caseload to 1,020,324.

A breakdown of the new cases and deaths is as follows:

Sindh: 2,672 cases, 43 deaths
Punjab: 592 cases, 17 deaths
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 399 cases, 7 deaths
Islamabad: 376 cases, 1 death
Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 261 cases, 2 deaths
Balochistan: 158 cases
Gilgit-Baltistan: 39 cases, 6 deaths

Pakistan, for the third-straight day, has set a new record for daily vaccinations, with Asad Umar reporting the number to be 850,000 — up from 778,000 the previous day.

“Third day in a row a new record for daily vaccination set. 6 lakh 80 thousand, then 7 lakh 78 thousand and yesterday 8 lakh 50 thousand. Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan all set new daily vaccination records yesterday. Well done Pakistan, but we want to accelerate even more,” the minister tweeted.

The development follows Dr Faisal Sultan's recent statement that the country would achieve the goal of administering one million doses per day soon.

Yet, the rising number of cases and deaths have raised concerns.

University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Akram had warned while speaking to Dawn a day ago that the situation would deteriorate in the coming days and the country might be left with no option but to enforce lockdown. He had suggested that the pace of vaccination should be further expedited to avoid the chances of creation of the vaccine-resistant virus.

“Unfortunately whenever the number of cases has started declining, a new variant of Covid-19 having high transmission rate has emerged and then positivity has started increasing again. Covid-19 is comparatively a bigger virus and it has 39,000 positions for mutations and 20,000 positions for variations. The Delta variant has emerged after two mutations and this is why it is called double mutant virus,” he had said.
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan hit another record-high day for COVID-19 cases, with the active number of cases crossing the 60,000 mark Friday morning.

Daily case and death counts continue to pile up as the fourth surge of the coronavirus pandemic accelerates in the country.

The National Command and Operation Centre's numbers showed that another 86 people died of the virus in the last 24 hours, pushing the national death tally to 23,295.
 
https://www.dawn.com/news/1637779/karachi-to-be-the-focus-during-sindhs-partial-lockdown-until-august-8

The Sindh government on Friday decided to impose a lockdown in the province from tomorrow (Saturday) till August 8 amid rising Covid-19 cases.

Key decisions:

  • There will be a ban on inter-city travel
  • All markets will remain closed. However, pharmacies and groceries (till 6pm) will remain open.
  • Restaurants will only be allowed to deliver food. No takeaway allowed.
  • Exams cancelled during lockdown period
  • Vaccination cards of citizens roaming the streets will be checked
  • Vaccination centres to remain open during lockdown
  • All govt offices will be closed from next week

The decision was taken during a provincial coronavirus task force meeting presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

According to a handout issued by the CM's office, restrictions will remain in place till August 8. However, businesses associated with the export sector will be allowed to operate.

There will be a ban on inter-city travel and all markets will remain closed. Pharmacies, however, will remain open.

Addressing a press conference to detail the decisions, Chief Minister Shah said due to the decisions taken by the provincial task force, Sindh was able to tackle the first, second and third waves of Covid-19 relatively better than other provinces. "But in this fourth wave, the Delta variant is the main concern," he added.

He noted that Karachi was the most affected city now, saying the virus spread fast in closed spaces and cases would multiply if measures were not taken to curb it.

"Just a month ago, there were an average of 500 cases daily in Sindh by the end of June. And now by July's end, the number of daily cases has increased to 3,000," he said.

Shah revealed that after the task force meeting, he had informed federal minister Asad Umar and SAPM Dr Faisal Sultan about its decisions, and "they assured us of helping us in implementing these decisions."

"This is not a complete lockdown. This is a partial lockdown," he said, noting that complete lockdown was the one that had been imposed last year on March 20.

The chief minister appealed to the people to help the government successfully implement its decisions, saying "we will move towards reopening" from August 9.

"If you help us, we will be able to contain the spread of this disease. People are asking what will happen after August 8. We have to take measures so that our hospital facilities are not choked."

Citing increased travelling during Eid holidays, Shah said the Covid-19 positivity ratio which was 1pc at many places had now jumped to 6pc in 4-5 days. "It is necessary to take effective measures to break this virus chain," he stressed.

He shared a three-pronged approach to contain the virus:

1- Prevent its spread by social distancing, following SOPs and imposing lockdown 2- Improving hospital facilities. "We need to make more interventions to ease the burden on hospitals," he said. 3- Vaccination. "In this lockdown, we will ensure that vaccination does not suffer in its wake," Shah added.

The chief minister said small transport would remain operational so that people did not face difficulties, while the government "will also look into major transport".

"We all have to ensure that retail business remains closed, as that will keep people indoors," he said, adding that almost all government offices would remain closed for the next nine days, with the exception of essential departments like gas, electricity and water.

He further said he had approached the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to make the Sindh Assembly session online for women.

Health and medical-related facilities will remain functional, as will food-related industries and export-oriented industries. Meanwhile, "banks are a federal subject and we will write to the centre to open banks with limited staff," the chief minister told the presser.

Courts will also continue to operate and the Pakistan Stock Exchange will be advised to continue business with limited staff. Groceries, bakeries, and meat and vegetable shops will remain open till 6pm.

According to Shah, petrol pumps, all utility companies and municipal services will remain open, while media persons will be allowed outdoors with face masks.

Restaurants will be allowed to only deliver food, while takeaway will not be permitted.

There will be no examinations from Monday to Friday and boards will devise a new schedule for the postponed exams. Private offices have also been advised to not operate during lockdown days.

Further details will be issued soon, Chief Minister Shah said, adding that "apart from the aforementioned [sectors], everything else will remain closed."

Shah said people belonging to different sectors claimed that the rising infections were not a concern at their end. "But we have to make some sacrifices," he added.

He also stated that Sindh was not unique in people not adhering to Covid-19 health guidelines.

"There was talk of SOPs not being followed in Sindh. But I strongly disagree with it. Yes, SOPs are not being followed here but the same is the case with all other places as well," he said.

He urged everyone to follow the SOPs and get themselves vaccinated, saying while the virus would not end after nine days, the government would not have to go towards a lockdown if people adhered to the health advice.

Shah shared that ulema had suggested to him that vaccination centres should also be set up in mosques and imambargahs.

He said the decisions taken today were made in consultation with doctors, adding that health experts had presented a worsening Covid-19 situation during the last two meetings and warned that "our last line of defence will fall if drastic measures are not taken".

"I told people of political parties that we will get other occasions to argue with each other, but let's cooperate on this issue," he said.

The chief minister said the decisions were being notified after consulting the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), while Umar had assured the Sindh government of the army's help. He said he would ask ministers to check lockdown implementation in major districts.

Once again requesting public cooperation, Shah said the government would move to other cities with measures to curb the virus as well "but Karachi is suffering the most".

"Around three months ago, there was a virtual curfew in Lahore and no one raised any objection about it. And you saw the results of it," he remarked.

The chief minister said now was the time to take "practical steps" and that lip service would not serve any purpose. "Yes, we made mistakes by not taking steps early. I admit that. Now I want your cooperation," he told the public.

Shah said "misleading pictures" had been used to show people dying from hunger, but added that there was no veracity in those claims. "It's not in my knowledge that someone died of hunger during the coronavirus lockdown," he said.

Talking about the lockdown duration, he said it was decided to limit it to nine days instead of 15 days to prevent economic loss.

"I said it will be desirable if we and the federal government are able to keep people in lockdown without pushing them into difficulties. Finally we decided to impose this five-day lockdown (aside from the weekend) and doctors said it is better than nothing," Shah explained.

He said the partial lockdown would serve as a "speed breaker" and it was hoped that people would follow the SOPs when the restrictions were ended.

Answering a question, Shah said the lockdown order applied to the entire Sindh, "but our focus will be on Karachi because the city is facing a serious situation".

Asked about the concern that police will exploit people not possessing the vaccination card when they go out, the chief minister said: "Why are you benefitting them? This is a matter of just nine days. We will try to ensure no one exploits this situation. But you shouldn't give them a chance either."

Shah said he did not intend to spread fear, "but if somebody violates the SOPs, the security forces will deal with that accordingly".

When approached for further clarification, the Sindh chief secretary's spokesperson Farhat Imtiaz told Dawn.com that law-enforcement officers were empowered under the Sindh Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, to act against anyone found to be violating the orders regarding Covid-19 restrictions.

The restrictions

An order issued by the Sindh Home Department said the provincial government "is satisfied that it has become imminent to prevent mixing/gathering/meeting of people by taking appropriate measures in order to contain the spread of Covid-19 and therefore complete ban is imposed on the movement — intra-city, inter-city and inter-provincial — in public or private transport, and the gathering of people for any purpose — social, religious, customary, business, sports, entertainment, recreation, education, training, coaching, examination or for any other purpose at any place — public or private — including offices".

The notification listed the following restrictions:

General directions:

  • No one is allowed to come out to any public place without a valid reason.
  • No employee or worker over the age of 55 shall be called in to work at offices.
  • Grocery Stores, fish, meat, vegetable/fruit vendors and dairy shops shall remain closed from 6pm to 6am.
  • No more than two persons should travel in a car. A third person can be allowed only in cases where a sick person being carried requires such an attendant. Pillion riding on motorcycles is not permitted.
  • If the virus is contracted by any worker or labourer then the owner or management shall accordingly take necessary measures including suspension of activities till a clearance is given by health authorities.

Key exemptions:

  • People going out to buy groceries and medicines in “extreme emergency”.
  • Personnel related to health services like hospitals, laboratories and medical stores.
  • Individuals in need of medical care with an attendant where necessary.
  • Persons going for vaccination within their respective district of residence.
  • Unavoidable religious rites like funeral prayers, burial and related occasions provided that all precautions are taken and a distance of three feet is maintained after prior intimation to SHO of the area.
  • Cellular companies service staff going for repair or maintenance of towers/cables
  • Banks (with limited staff for services)
  • Essential municipal services
  • Home delivery under e-commerce provided that staff at warehouses and the delivery personnel are fully vaccinated and in possession of vaccination certificates for inspection by law enforcement officials.

'Vaccination cards to be checked'

Earlier, while addressing the task force meeting, Chief Minister Shah said that the vaccination cards of citizens roaming the streets would be checked during the lockdown and all government offices would be closed from next week.

He warned that unvaccinated government employees would not be issued salaries after August 31.

The decisions come a day after federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar rejected the idea of closing down entire cities to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Umar, who is also the head of the NCOC, said on Thursday that Pakistan should pursue smart lockdowns, a strategy which had succeeded in the past.

However, earlier today the NCOC announced that that the forum "critically reviewed" the disease spread in Karachi and decided to take all possible measures to assist the provincial government in combatting the rise in cases.

"The measures being undertaken by the federal government include ramping up critical care capacity, including oxygenated beds and vents, availability of oxygen and deployment of law enforcement agencies for implementation of SOPs and non-pharmaceutical interventions," the forum said.

‘Situation could turn terrifying'

Doctors attending today's meeting warned participants that the Covid-19 situation in the province could turn "terrifying” and sounded alarm over the increasing pressure on hospitals as well as the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant as cases continue to rise after Eidul Azha.

Sindh Health Secretary Dr Kazim Jatoi informed the meeting that a positivity rate of 13.7 per cent was recorded in the province, while 39,958 active cases had been reported as of Friday. He said 1,410 of the patients were admitted to hospitals, 1,192 were critically ill and 102 were on ventilators.

The health secretary said that the positivity rate in Karachi during the last 24 hours was 23pc, 14.52pc in Hyderabad and 2.9pc in Sukkur.

The chief minister said that in Karachi, the highest positivity rate was recorded in East district at 33pc, followed by 21pc in Korangi district and 19pc in West district.

South and Malir districts reported a positivity rate of 17pc each, he said.

The meeting was also told that 469 Covid-19 patients had died in Karachi during the last 29 days, of which 323 had been on ventilators while 50 died at their homes.

Pakistan reports more than 4,500 Covid cases, highest since April 30

The more transmissible Delta variant — first detected in India — is believed to be responsible for the country's fourth Covid-19 wave.

The variant, scientists say, has features that allow it to evade some of the body’s immune system defences. Plus, it has the highest transmissibility of any variant so far.

On Friday, Pakistan recorded its biggest daily increase in Covid-19 cases since April 30, when 4,745 cases were reported in the country.

As many as 4,537 infections were reported against 58,203 tests over the past 24 hours, according to the NCOC. This is also the third consecutive day that the country has reported over 4,000 cases. The total number of cases in the country is 1,024,861.

Further, 86 coronavirus-related deaths were also reported during this period, taking the total to 23,295.

Earlier this week, President Arif Alvi had sounded alarm over the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases and had urged citizens to "get serious".

"Cases have shot up post-Eid. I was expecting and warning about it as I saw carelessness in [the] streets, bazaars, [and at] weddings and mosques," he had said, calling upon the people to "pull their act together" and follow SOPs.

He had also urged Pakistanis to get vaccinated. "Don't let the recent gains towards stability [be] sacrificed on the alter of neglect. You are a rising nation, so the important test is to 'rise to the occasion'," he had said.
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Pakistan's coronavirus positivity rate has risen to 8.4 per cent, marking the first time the national positivity rate crossed 8pc in over two months.

The last time the country reported a similarly high positivity rate was on May 19 when it was recorded at 8.2pc.

Nearly 5,000 new coronavirus cases were detected in the country in the last 24 hours, including over 2,000 in Sindh.

The countrywide breakdown of cases is as follows:

Sindh: 2,862
Punjab: 728
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 460
Balochistan: 127
Islamabad: 359
Gilgit Baltistan: 88
Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 326
 
https://www.dawn.com/news/1637986/sindh-lifts-ban-on-pillion-riding-small-public-transport-during-lockdown

The Sindh government on Saturday revised its coronavirus lockdown restrictions it imposed a day ago, lifting the ban on pillion riding and allowing small transport to ply within the limits of Karachi.

The provincial government notified the following revisions in the coronavirus lockdown restrictions:

  • Milk shops, bakeries and carriage vehicles for dairy products exempted from timing restrictions, i.e: 6pm to 6am.
  • Home delivery from restaurants as well as under E-commerce permitted, provided delivery personnel are fully vaccinated.
  • Industrial establishments/premises other than export-oriented industries and related with manufacture/production of essential services may also be made functional given all employees at the industries are fully vaccinated.
  • Fertilisers/pesticide shops and warehouses are exempted from timing restrictions provided that the entire staff working at these premises is fully vaccinated.
  • Small public transport (taxi, cab, rickshaw, Qingqi, etc) may ply within the city limits.
  • Large public transport (buses, mini-buses and wagons) may ply within the city limits for public transportation exclusively and only to and from the designated vaccination centres.
  • The restriction of not carrying more than two persons in private vehicles is waived-off.
Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister Murtaza Wahab, addressing a press conference, said an ease in a few restrictions including resumption of small public transport (taxi, cab, rickshaw, qinquis) was aimed at encouraging people to visit vaccination centres in their respective areas.

He, however, clarified that large public transport vehicles (bus, mini-buses and wagons) would be allowed to ply exclusively to and from designated vaccination centres.

The Sindh government had on Friday decided to impose a lockdown in the province from from July 31 till August 8 amid rising Covid-19 cases.

“During this nine-day lockdown, we want people to come out of homes only for vaccination purposes and no other activity whatsoever,” Murtaza Wahab said in a presser today.

He added that industries and companies with 100 per cent vaccination of their employees were now being allowed to operate.

Wahab also said it had also been notified that restriction of not carrying more than two persons in a vehicle had been waived off. “But the number of persons in the said vehicles is restricted to the prescribed capacity of the vehicle concerned,” he added.

If violations are seen in any shop or establishment, it will be sealed for 30 days, said Wahab, adding that the 30-day closure would start from August 9.

He said the same was the case with restaurants allowing indoor dining in contravention of the orders.

Explaining the initiatives taken by the Sindh’s coronavirus task force, Wahab said the provincial administration had decided to use a “tactic” to persuade people to get themselves vaccinated.

“In this regard, it was decided that mobile SIM cards of unvaccinated people will be blocked, and you can see vaccination stats after four days of the announcement — there’s an exponential increase in it,” he said.

He said at least 185,406 people got vaccinated against Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, “which is a big number”. He added it was a result of narrative developed by the Sindh government in the last four to five days.

“Lockdown has begun today and people are turning up in large numbers at vaccination centres. We are also planning to establish more vaccination centres,” Wahab said.

He also highlighted that if the administration indulged in a wrong action, then it will also face retribution.

“Our ministers, MPAs, police personnel have all been vaccinated against the coronavirus, and it is a request to everyone to get the jab and listen to the experts and doctors as they all are recommending it,” he appealed.

Earlier in the day, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry had emphasised on the Sindh government to “immediately” open industries that it had shut under its nine-day province-wide lockdown announced yesterday.

“The way Sindh government is trying to impose restrictions, it will only add to plights of common men. The province is the jugular vein of Pakistan's economy and when it’s improving, you are talking about imposing a lockdown,” the minister lamented.
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The fourth wave of Covid-19 pandemic has continued its upward trajectory, with Pakistan reporting 5,026 cases over the past 24 hours — the highest number of daily cases in the country since April 29 when 5,112 infections were reported.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the body responsible for the country's Covid-19 response, the new cases were detected against 56,965 tests and took the overall national tally to 1,034,837.

The positivity rate of the daily cases was recorded at 8.8 per cent — up from 8.46pc the previous day.

Meanwhile, 62 more coronavirus-related fatalities raised the country's death toll from the disease to 23,422.

A breakdown of Covid-19 cases and deaths reported in Pakistan during the last 24 hours is as follows:

Sindh: 2,772 cases, 30 deaths
Punjab: 709 cases, 18 deaths
Khyber Pakhtunkwa: 591 cases, 6 deaths
Islamabad: 395 cases, 2 deaths
Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 356 cases, 3 deaths
Balochistan: 143 cases
Gilgit-Baltistan: 60 cases, 3 deaths
 
Flights suspension from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka may be extended beyond August 7, said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag carrier Etihad Airways in a statement.

UAE-based airlines — Emirates and Etihad — last month announced that flights operations from South Asian countries remain suspended till August 7.

On Wednesday, the carrier had said the extension of flight suspensions from India, Pakistan was until “further notice”.

“Following the latest UAE Government directives, passenger travel from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the UAE and Etihad's network has been suspended until August 7, 2021. Please note this is an evolving situation, and this date may have to be extended in line with government mandates,” the carrier said in a statement to Khaleej Times.

Also read: UAE allows travellers from restricted countries to attend 'Expo 2020

Dubai-based Emirates airline has also announced the suspension of incoming scheduled passenger flights from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the UAE until at least August 7. Any further extension of restrictions remains under review.

The UAE airlines are not permitted to carry passengers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or India. However, UAE nationals, diplomats, official delegations and Golden Visa holders are exempted from the entry restrictions.

These passengers will be subject to acceptance and quarantine conditions.

Etihad said cargo flights will continue to operate in both directions without any impact.

The airline said it is working closely with impacted guests to notify them of the changes to their itineraries.

Meanwhile, the UAE has allowed eight categories of travellers to fly to the Gulf state from countries from where passengers’ entry is suspended due to coronavirus restrictions.

The latest addition to the exempted categories is Expo 2020 Dubai participants, according to KT.

Passenger entry from 16 destinations, including India, Pakistan, South Africa and Indonesia, to the UAE remains suspended until further notice.

According to the safety circular issued by the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) last week, exempted travellers have to abide by stringent Covid-19 safety measures, including a 10-day quarantine period.

The exempted passengers will be required to submit negative PCR (Covid-19 test) result within 48 hours from the date of departure.

The test must have been taken at an accredited laboratory and the result must have a QR code.

They must get a PCR test done on arrival, followed by two others on day four and eight, as per the official guidelines.

They have to quarantine for 10 days and must wear a monitoring and tracking device.
 
ISLAMABAD: Another 40 people have died in Pakistan due to the global coronavirus epidemic and 4,858 new cases have also been reported.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre's statistics, 56,414 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 4,858 were confirmed to be positive.

According to the official portal, the rate of positive cases in the country is 8.61%.
 
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 67 new coronavirus deaths, raising the nationwide tally to 23,529 on Tuesday.

About 3,582 new coronavirus cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the data issued by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on its official web portal.

The coronavirus positivity rate in Pakistan stood at 7.19% with 75,373 active cases across the country.
 
CAA imposes new restrictions for inbound flights as fourth wave hits Pakistan

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Tuesday imposed new restrictions for inbound flights as the fourth wave of COVID-19 hit the country and the government enforced curbs to stem the pandemic's spread.

In the new travel advisory, the CAA said all inbound passengers of age six years and above will be required to possess a valid negative PCR test result conducted within 72 hours prior to commencement of travel to Pakistan.

"All arriving passengers of age 6 years and above will be tested through rapid antigen testing upon arrival in Pakistan," the travel advisory said.

Positive testing passengers between the age of six and 12 years will be home quarantined under the supervision of concerned authorities, it said.

"Positive testing passengers above 12 years of age will be quarantined at a designated facility as per procedure already in vogue," the travel advisory said.

"Considering the volatile nature of the COVID-19 situation, any or all arriving passengers may also be subjected to additional stipulations as mandated by the relevant health authorities upon arrival in Pakistan," the advisory added.

67 more perish amid devastating COVID surge

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said Tuesday morning the country reported 67 new coronavirus deaths, raising the nationwide tally to 23,529.

About 3,582 new coronavirus cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours.

The coronavirus positivity rate in Pakistan stood at 7.19% with 75,373 active cases across the country.

The NCOC data reveals that at least 49,798 coronavirus tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, out of which 3,582 came back positive.

Meanwhile, 682,290 people have recovered from the virus in the country so far.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/363260-ca...-inbound-flights-as-fourth-wave-hits-pakistan
 
surprised no one mentioned that Pakistan hit over 1 million vaccinations given in a day:

First dose - 879,181
Second dose: 192,991
Total - 1,072,172

Great achievement,
 
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's COVID-19 positivity rate jumped to 9.06% Thursday morning, marking the first time in nearly three months that the country has recorded a positivity rate over 9%.

The country last recorded a coronavirus positivity rate of 9.12% on May 10.

The National Command and Operation Centre's (NCOC) latest data showed a rapid increase in the number of daily cases and deaths and active cases as Pakistan continues its fight against a deadly fourth wave of the virus.
 
ISLAMABAD: Coronavirus cases continued to surge across Pakistan on Friday as well, with the country's active number of cases shooting to 79,992.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) stated that over the past 24 hours, 4,745 people had tested positive for the infection out of a total of 57,981 people who were tested for the infection
 
The Sindh government on Sunday announced revised COVID-19 restrictions for the province as the country battles a fourth wave.

The new restrictions are set to take effect on Monday, August 9 and will last till August 31.

Under the revised curbs, the following will apply:

Market and business activities may continue till 8pm. This includes standalone grocery stores, fish and meat shops, vegetable and fruit vendors, e-commerce and bakeries.

Essential services allowed to open longer. These include pharmacies, medical facilities, vaccination centres, petrol pumps, milk shops and tandoors.

Indoor dining will not be allowed.

Outdoor dining is allowed for a maximum of 300 people till 10pm under strict coronavirus safety precautions.

Takeaway and home delivery are allowed 24/7, subject to following of safety measures with staff and delivery personnel fully vaccinated.

Indoor weddings banned.

Outdoor weddings allowed with a maximum of 300 guests till 10pm with strict enforcement of safety protocols.
Shrines to remain closed.

Cinemas to remain closed.

Indoor gatherings, including cultural, musical, religious events prohibited.

Outdoor gatherings allowed for a maximum of 300 guests with strict enforcement of safety protocols.
Contact sports banned.

Gyms to allow only vaccinated individuals.

Offices to only call 50% staff to work.

Public transport to run on sanctioned routes with 50% occupancy and staff fully vaccinated. Snacks are not allowed on board the vehicles.

Railway services to continue with 50% occupancy, subject to enforcement of strict safety protocols and vaccination of all staff.
Amusement parks, swimming pools and water sports facilities to remain closed.
Public parks to remain open subject to the following of safety measures.
Tourism activities to only be allowed for vaccinated individuals.
Domestic airlines to no longer serve meals or snacks.
Wearing of masks compulsory at all public places.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Our Covid 19 response strategy has been appreciated by the world and with the blessings of Allah has protected Pakistan from the worst effects of Covid. I want to pay tribute to the NCOC team which through its dedicated work has been the linchpin of our Covid response strategy.</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1424290748791468035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
These kind of tweet by PM does not augur well for a countries covid response. Some might take it as a sign of relaxation. It's much better to be on the cautious side.
 
Pakistan's coronavirus positivity ratio stays above 8%

SLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday reported a coronavirus positivity rate above 8%, as cases of the coronavirus continue to rise across the country.

This brings the coronavirus positivity ratio to 8.09%. As per data from the NCOC, 68 people succumbed to the virus over the past 24 hours.

Pakistan currently has 82,076 active coronavirus cases while the total number of cases in the country have amounted to 1,067,580.

The total number of deaths due to the virus have crossed 23,865.

Sindh to lift coronavirus lockdown on August 9: NCOC
Coronavirus cases across Pakistan haven't decline significantly, however, the NCOC on Saturday announced that Sindh will lift its lockdown on August 9.

A statement was issued by NCOC following a joint session which was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, and attended by Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, Gen Hamood and other team members from NCOC.

The coronavirus situation in Sindh, particularly in Karachi, "was discussed at length", according to the statement.

It said that a need for "better coordination" and an "enhanced interaction at all levels" was emphasised.

It was decided that Sindh would follow the non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI)- based guidelines the forum had announced for 13 high infection rate cities earlier this week, which include Karachi and Hyderabad.

The matter of the reopening of Sindh's schools and leftover exams will be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the Inter Provincial Education Ministerial Conference (IPEMC).

The forum also recognised the need for a special emphasis on the implementation of safety precautions in view of Muharram and when the lockdown is lifted on August 9.

It was decided that "smart lockdowns" in high disease prevalence areas will be enforced to curb the spread of the virus.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/364108-pakistan-continues-to-report-covid-positivity-ratio-above-8
 
IK surely needs to hire competent people to run his social media accounts as some tweets that come from his account are quite amateurish to say the least, just for an example the tweet about the Covid response strategy basically the country is reeling with this deadly virus with barely 40-50K tests done in the entire country is a complete shambles.

It is high time he tweeted about genuine issues like forced conversions and marriages, and many many others plaguing the nation for a couple of decades.
 
Coronavirus death toll crosses 24,000 mark in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: In the last 24 hours, 86 more people have died in Pakistan due to the ongoing fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, after which the death toll has crossed 24,000.

The National Command and Operation Centre's (NCOC) daily numbers showed that 49,506 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours. Of these, 3,884 came back positive.

According to the NCOC, the positivity rate now stands at 7.84%.


The number of deaths from coronavirus in the country has crossed 24,000 and reached 24,004 and the total number of cases has reached 1,075,504.

In addition to this, 2,669 patients have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 967,073, while the number of active cases is 84,427.

Pakistan records minor drop in daily COVID-19 numbers
A day earlier, it was reported that Pakistan has been recording a slow decline in its daily COVID-19 numbers over the last few days.

According to NCOC's stats, the positivity rate, daily cases and deaths fell Monday. There is a small downward trend in daily numbers, however, active cases continue to increase with the latest figure recorded at 84,427 cases.

Overall, coronavirus cases across Pakistan haven't declined significantly, however, Sindh lifted its lockdown Monday. Revised COVID-19 restrictions, which will last till August 31, have been announced by the Sindh government.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/364447-coronavirus-death-toll-crosses-24000-mark-in-pakistan
 
Over 4,800 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours in Pakistan.

This was revealed by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday. Meanwhile, another 81 people lost their lives to the virus.

As many as 4,856 people tested positive for the virus after 64,690 COVID-19 tests were taken, as per the NCOC's data. This brings the positivity rate to 7.50%.
 
Deaths from Covid-19 in Pakistani cities as of June 25, 2021

Karachi 3927
Lahore 3617
Faisalabad 1078
Peshawar 938
Islamabad 520
Multan 498
Gujranwala 379
Sargodha 377
Mardan 363
Sialkot 352
Hyderabad 311
Gujrat 300
Bahawalpur 241
Swat 219
 
Pakistan reports more than 100 Covid deaths for first time since May 20
Pakistan has reported 102 deaths from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours. This is the first time the country has reported more than 100 deaths since May 20, when the same number of fatalities were recorded.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre, 59,397 tests were conducted during this period and 4,934 came back positive. The total number of cases has risen to 1,085,294 and the positivity ratio is 8.3 per cent.

Sindh has reported the highest number of deaths during the last 24 hours with 41 fatalities, followed by 36 in Punjab.

Breakdown of Covid-19 cases and deaths reported during the last 24 hours:

Sindh: 2,145 cases, 41 deaths
Punjab: 1,141 cases, 36 deaths
Islamabad: 561 cases, 2 deaths
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 494 cases, 16 deaths
Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 448 cases, 4 deaths
Gilgit-Baltistan: 102 cases, 3 deaths
Balochistan: 43 cases
 
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported a significant decline in coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, with the country reporting a positivity ratio of 6.8%.

As per data from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Pakistan reported 3,711 new cases of the virus Sunday after the country conducted 54,204 tests.

The NCOC reported 68 deaths over the past 24 hours.

The last time Pakistan reported a coronavirus positivity ratio was almost 20 days ago, on July 27 when the country reported a positivity ratio of 6.6%.
 
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's COVID-19 cases tally crossed the 1.1 million mark on Monday, with the country reporting 3,669 new infections over the last 24 hours.

Another 72 people lost their lives to coronavirus in Pakistan, according to the statistics issued by the National Command and Operation Centre.

According to the NCOC, 53,644 coronavirus tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 3,669 came back positive.
 
Pakistan reports 3,974 new cases, 66 deaths

Pakistan reported 3,974 new cases of coronavirus on during the past 24 hours, taking the tally for confirmed cases to 1,109,274.

At least 66 fatalities were also reported during the said period. A total of 24,639 patients have succumbed to the virus in the country so far.

Moreover, 3,122 recoveries were also reported in a day, taking the total recoveries to 996,426.
 
Pakistan on Sunday reported 3,842 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours as the country continues to battle the fourth wave of the pandemic.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) statistics, 3,842 people tested positive for the COVID-19 after 53,527 tests were taken across the country.

The country's COVID-19 positivity rate now stands at 7.1%.

The latest NCOC stats also showed that the nationwide death toll from coronavirus has risen to 24,923 after 75 more people lost their lives to the disease during the past 24 hours.

With the fresh count of 3,842 infections, the nationwide tally of COVID-19 cases has reached 1,123,812.

In addition to this, as many as 1,009,555 people have recovered from the virus so far while the number of active cases is 89,334.
 
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan marked a grim milestone Monday morning as its coronavirus death toll reached 25,000.

The National Command and Operation Centre's website reported 80 deaths from the last 24 hours Monday morning, pushing the total to 25,003.

An additional 3,772 positive coronavirus cases were recorded by the NCOC over the last 24 hours after taking 53,881 tests.
 
Pakistan's coronavirus crisis may spiral out of control as the country crossed the grim milestone of 90,000 active coronavirus cases Tuesday.

Data from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed that Pakistan's active coronavirus cases today reached 91,046 after 4,075 new cases of the virus were detected during the last 24 hours.

This is the highest number of active cases in the country since April 29 when 91,547 people were recorded as having infected with viral infection.

Pakistan tested 59,943 people for the virus on Monday out of which 4,075 people tested positive for the infection. The coronavirus positivity rate, compared to Monday, has slightly declined from 7% to 6.79%.
 
ISLAMABAD: Over 4,500 people tested positive for the coronavirus in the last 24 hours in Pakistan.

This was revealed by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday. Meanwhile, another 85 people lost their lives to the virus.

As many as 4,553 people tested positive for the virus after 61,446 COVID-19 tests were taken, as per the NCOC's data. This brings the positivity rate to 7.4%.
 
Pakistan’s active Coronavirus cases now stand at 92,244 - the highest level since July 6, 2020
 
ISLAMABAD: Another 95 people have died of COVID-19 in Pakistan and 4,016 new cases have been reported over the last 24 hours, official figures showed Friday morning.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre's website, 62,496 coronavirus tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 4,016 returned positive.

According to the official portal, the rate of positive cases during the last 24 hours was 6.42%.


The number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country has risen to 25,415 and the total number of cases has reached 1,144,341.

In addition to this, 3,235 patients have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,026,082.

The number of active cases is at an all-time high during this year at 92,844.
 
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 120 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, reporting over 100 deaths in a day after a gap of almost 15 days. The country last reported more than 100 deaths on August 12, 2021.

According to official data provided the by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), nearly 4,200 people tested positive for the coronavirus.

As many as 4,191 people tested positive for the virus after 61,306 COVID-19 tests were taken, as per the NCOC’s data. This bring the positivity rate to 6.83%.

The total number of active cases in the country have surged to 93,107 on August 28.

A total 1,029,930 people have so far recovered from the virus while the total number of deaths, with the fresh count of 120 fatalities, have risen to 25,535.

Pakistan’s total confirmed case count now stands at 1,148,572. Earlier on August 27, the NCOC shared that Pakistan has achieved the milestone of 50 million COVID vaccine doses; taking the total number of doses administered to 50,985,184.
 
Pakistan reported 3,909 new cases of coronavirus on during the past 24 hours, taking the tally for confirmed cases to 1,152,441.

At least 69 fatalities were also reported during the period. A total of 25,535 patients have succumbed to the virus in the country so far.

The positivity ratio in the country currently stands at 6.21 per cent, while some 62,918 tests were carried out to detect the virus on Friday.
 
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) – a high-level forum spearheading national efforts against coronavirus – has decided to extend the anti-coronavirus restrictions from 13 cities to 27 cities across Pakistan.

In a statement, the NCOC said the decision to extend the scope of the standard operation procedures (SOPs) was taken in light of an increase in coronavirus cases in Pakistan, with positivity rates in double digits in several cities. The spike in cases has also put a strain on the healthcare system, it added.

The cities where these SOPs will be implemented include Islamabad; Khanewal, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Bahawalpur, Multan, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab; Hyderabad and Karachi in Sindh; Muzaffarabad and Mirpur in Azad Kashmir; Gilgit and Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan; Peshawar, Swat, Haripur, Mansehra, Lower Dir, Swabi, Abbottabad, Swat and Chitral Lower in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Anti-Covid SOPs

In the wake of the Covid-19 spread, the government has decided to reduce the timing of commercial activities barring essential services till 8pm. Markets will remain closed twice a week, it said, adding that provinces can decide on their own the days when markets will remain closed.

Restaurants cannot allow indoor dining, it said, adding that outdoor dining will be allowed till 10pm. Takeaway services will be available 24/7.

Similarly, there’s a ban on indoor weddings. Outdoor wedding ceremonies with a maximum limit of 300 guests will be allowed till 10pm. The restrictions on cinemas will remain in place. Amusement parks and swimming pools will remain closed. On the other hand, people can visit public parks but amid strict compliance with the SOPs.

Read NCOC bans train travel for unvaccinated citizens from Oct 1

According to the NCOC, the ban on contact sports (karate, boxing, martial arts, rugby, water polo, kabaddi and wrestling) will continue, whereas only vaccinated people will be able to go to indoor gyms.

The public and private offices will follow normal work hours with 50 per cent attendance, while public transport will also operate on 50 per cent capacity. Trains will be running at 70 per cent capacity.

Normal office hours for public and private offices will continue with 50% staff.

The NCOC also decided that educational institutions across the country will open three days a week with 50 per cent attendance. The anti-Covid nerve centre will review its implemented SOPs on September 13.

Covid cases

Pakistan reported 3,909 new cases of coronavirus during the past 24 hours, taking the tally for confirmed cases to 1,152,441.

At least 69 fatalities were also reported during the period. A total of 25,535 patients have succumbed to the virus in the country so far. The positivity ratio in the country currently stands at 6.21 per cent.
 
So with Pakistan staying on the red list - about time for Pakistan to ramp up the covid testing immediately, Only way to be listed as a amber country for the UK.

they can do 450,000+ single doses vaccination a day and 250,000+ - means they can do 350,00+ test a day.

No excuses
 
Mirpur AJK had the highest positivity rate for any Pakistani city at 18.9% - followed by Skardu with 13.4%
 
Active Coronavirus cases in Pakistan have now overtaken the peaks of the second and third waves

There are 93,690 active cases in the country as of Aug 30, 2021

This is the highest figure since July 6, 2020
 
https://www.dawn.com/news/1643534/sindh-to-administer-covid-19-shots-to-students-of-grades-9-to-12-at-all-schools-colleges-from-sep-6

The Sindh government decided on Monday to inoculate students of grades 9 to 12 against the coronavirus at all private and public sector schools and colleges across the province from Sep 6.

The decision in this regard was taken during a meeting chaired by Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho on Monday. Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah, along with other officials, was also in attendance at the meeting.

As per the decision, as many as 1.42 million students from grades 9 to 12 will be vaccinated.

A handout from the health ministry said as many as 2,527 teams will participate in the vaccination drive at different schools and colleges.

The vaccinations will first start at the district level and will later be extended to the taluka level, said the statement.

The health minister, meanwhile, directed the schools’ administrations to take the consent of parents for vaccinating children at educational institutions.

She said the registration of vaccinated pupils would also be ensured after the completion of the process.

The health ministry has said it will complete all necessary arrangements within six days before initiating the vaccination process at all educational institutions.

On Aug 20, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had said that schools, colleges and universities would remain closed for another week to enable the teaching and non-teaching staff to get themselves vaccinated.

Replying to a question at a press conference at CM House in Karachi, he had said schools would reopen on Aug 30, instead of Aug 23.

The CM had said that children would have to show their parents' vaccination cards for entry into schools. “Therefore, it has become mandatory for parents to get themselves vaccinated within a week,” the chief minister had said at the time.

Later at a press conference on Aug 23, the provincial education minister announced that schools that had vaccinated 100 per cent of their staff against Covid-19 would be allowed to open from August 30.

He had said children would only be allowed to go back to school if their parents were vaccinated, adding that the parents would have to submit their vaccination certificates from the National Database and Registration Authority.
Click to expand...
 
ISLAMABAD: Over 3,838 people tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours in Pakistan.

This was revealed by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday. Meanwhile, another 118 people lost their lives to the virus.

As many as 3,838 people tested positive for the virus after 52,112 COVID-19 tests were taken, as per the NCOC's data. This brings the positivity rate to 7.36%.

The total number of active cases in the country rose to 94,573 on August 31.

A total of 1,039,758 people have so far recovered from the virus while the total number of deaths, with the fresh count of 118 fatalities, have risen to 25,788.

Pakistan's total confirmed case count now stands at 1,160,119.
 
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported 89 new coronavirus deaths during the last 24 hours, raising the total death tally to 25,978 nationwide on Thursday.

According to the latest figures provided by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 61,651 coronavirus tests were conducted in the country, out of which 4,103 came back positive.

The positivity ratio was recorded at 6.65% in the country as of today.

The total tally of COVID-19 cases now stands at 1,167,791, with most cases reported in Punjab.

The number of recoveries nationwide has reached 1,048,872 so far, while the number of active cases in the country stands at 92,941 as of today.

According to the official portal, the total number of COVID-19 patients in Sindh has reached 433,931, in Punjab 396,326, in Balochistan 32,282, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 163,010, in Islamabad 99,910, in Azad Kashmir 32,380 and 9,952 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan is reporting 3,975 new infections on average each day, 68% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.

The country has administered at least 56,768,446 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 13.1% of the country’s population.

During the last week reported, Pakistan averaged about 936,145 doses administered each day. At that rate, it will take a further 47 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.

GEO
 
From Sept 10 all travellers on domestic flights in Pakistan will have to be fully vaccinated - partially vaccinated passengers will not be allowed to board.

Exceptions are foreign nationals, those under 18, and those not able to be vaccinated because of a medical condition.
 
LAHORE: The provincial government has decided to close schools again from September 6 to 11 due to the worsening situation of coronavirus, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas announced on Twitter Friday.
 
ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre has decided to impose a new set of restrictions in the federal capital from September 4 till September 12 in order to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The NCOC meeting — headed by Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar — gave a briefing to Prime Minister Imran Khan about the new restrictions.

According to the NCOC, all indoor and outdoor gatherings and events have been banned in the city. However, only outdoor wedding events are allowed to be organised with a maximum of 300 guests.

In addition to this, intercity public transport has been restricted in the cities having a high percentage of coronavirus cases. Indoor gyms will also remain closed.

Meanwhile, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat announced that the increasing COVID-19 cases have increased the pressure on hospitals, therefore, new restrictions had to be imposed.
 
Pakistan reported a coronavirus positivity rate of less than 7% for the fourth consecutive day, government data showed Saturday morning.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre, 64,053 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 3,980 returned positive. The country has mostly recorded less than 4,000 daily infections all of this week.

Per the official portal, the rate of positive cases during the last 24 hours was 6.21%. Since August 24, Pakistan's positivity rate has been under 7% on 10 out of 12 days.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country has risen to 26,114 after 79 people died from the virus, while the total number of cases has reached 1,175,558.

Pakistan is reporting 3,885 new infections on average each day, 66% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.

The country has administered at least 59,384,758 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 13.7% of the country’s population.

During the last week reported, Pakistan averaged about 1,072,051 doses administered each day. At that rate, it will take a further 41 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/368699-pa...ivity-rate-under-7-for-fourth-consecutive-day
 
KARACHI: Pakistan reported 3,747 new coronavirus infections Sunday morning as the country continues to battle against the fourth wave of the pandemic.

According to the latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), COVID-19 claimed 61 more lives during the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide death tally from the virus to 26,175.

As many as 3,747 people tested positive for the virus after 57,908 COVID-19 tests were taken, according to the NCOC's data. This brings the positivity rate to 6.47%.

The Sindh government has decided to launch a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in schools and colleges from September 6 (tomorrow), The News reported.

The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah on Saturday, which was attended by School Education Secretary Akbar Leghari, College Education Secretary Syed Khalid Haider Shah and other officers.

The meeting decided that all students enrolled in grades 9 and 10, and above would be vaccinated against Covid-19 and the consent certificate would be obtained from their parents in this regard.

Addressing private school owners and parents, the minister said that if administrators and parents of privately managed schools did not want their schools to close for an extended period, they should support this vaccination drive.
 
Pakistan's coronavirus positivity rate stays below 7% for straight week

Pakistan records 3,316 daily coronavirus cases in last 24 hours, NCOC data shows.
Country records less than 4,000 daily new coronavirus cases for fifth consecutive day.
Positivity rate stands at 6.33%.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported a coronavirus positivity rate of less than 7% for the seventh consecutive day, government data showed Tuesday morning.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre, 52,314 COVID-19 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 3,316 returned positive. The country has recorded less than 4,000 daily infections for nine out of 10 days since August 29.

Per the official portal, the rate of positive cases during the last 24 hours was 6.33%. Since August 24, Pakistan's positivity rate has been under 7% on 13 out of 15 days.


The number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country has risen to 26,330 after 98 people died from the virus, while the total number of cases has reached 1,186,234.

In addition to this, 3,270 patients have recovered from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours across the country, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,067,589, while the number of active cases is 92,315.

Read more: NCOC imposes new set of COVID-19 restrictions; bans indoor, outdoor events in Islamabad

Pakistan is reporting 3,805 new infections on average each day, 65% of the peak — the highest daily average reported on June 17.

Pakistan has administered at least 61,724,580 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 14.3% of the country’s population.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/369179-pakistans-coronavirus-positivity-rate-stays-below-7-for-straight-week

During the last week reported, Pakistan averaged about 1,204,828 doses administered each day. At that rate, it will take a further 36 days to administer enough doses for another 10% of the population.
 
ISLAMABAD: The national tally of total active COVID-19 cases fell to 85,801 on Tuesday as 2,580 more people tested positive for the virus, while 7,240 people made full recovery from the disease in the last 24 hours, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

Some 47,419 tests were conducted across the country on Monday. A day earlier, Pakistan reported 2,988 new infections in a single day. It was the first time in more than a month that Pakistan had reported less than 3,000 coronavirus cases. Before this, the daily case count had mostly been hovering between the 3,000-4,000 range for a month.
 
This is good news and pretty reasonable considering that countries 1/10th the size of pakistan have almost half the cases that Pakistan has.
 
The national tally of Covid-19 active cases recorded on Sunday were 63,909 with 2,580 more people testing positive for the deadly virus and 3,164 people recovering from the disease during the last 24 hours.

Seventy-one coronavirus patients have died during the last 24 hours, 61 of whom were under treatment in different hospitals and 10 of them perished in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

Most of the deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Of the total 71 deaths occurred, 24 of them who died were under treatment on ventilators.

There were 4,964 patients under treatment in critical condition in various Covid-dedicated healthcare facilities of the country.

The national Covid positivity ratio during the last 24 hours was recorded at 4.7%.

The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major cities including Sargodha 61%, Bahawalpur 55%, Lahore 55% and Multan 72%.

The maximum oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per medical requirement of Covid patient) was also occupied in four major cities of Bannu 57%, Swabi 68%, Sargodha 60%, and Bahawalpur 55%.

Around 533 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no Covid-affected person was on ventilator in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

Some 55,027 tests were conducted across the country on Saturday, including 16,390 in Sindh, 20,313 in Punjab, 11,084 in K-P, 4,289 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,744 in Balochistan, 410 G-B and 797 in AJK.

Around 1,132,726 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90% recovery ratio of the affected patients.

From the time the pandemic broke out, a total of 1,223,841 cases were detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment Covid-19 patients so far, including AJK 33,732, Balochistan 32,757, G-B 10,240, ICT 104,114, K-P 171,072, Punjab 421,800 and Sindh 450,126.

About 27,206 deaths were recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion.

Around 7,258 people perished in Sindh, 11 of them died in the hospitals and four out of the hospitals on Saturday. app
 
so why has pakistan vaccination rate dropped - for around 10 days straight, - were hitting 900-k 1million for first dose and 250k-350k 2nd dose


no in total were hitting 850k in total for both doses
 
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Pakistan records 1,453 new Covid cases, 46 deaths

Pakistan recorded 1,453 new cases of coronavirus on during the past 24 hours, taking the tally for confirmed cases to 1,255,321.

At least 46 fatalities were also reported during the period. A total of 28,032 patients have succumbed to the virus in the country so far.

Moreover, 1,840 recoveries were also reported in a day, taking the total recoveries to 1,182,894.
 
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported less than 1,000 daily COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours for the second consecutive day, data from the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) showed Saturday morning.

A day earlier, the country had recorded a daily case count under 1,000 for the first time in over three months (830 cases on July 6).

At least 955 fresh coronavirus cases were detected in the last 24 hours after 44,557 tests were taken, pushing the total confirmed case count since the pandemic began last year to 1,257,188.


The deadly virus claimed the lives of 29 people, pushing the death tally to 28,087.

The positivity rate currently stands at 2.14%. A day earlier, it dipped below 2% for the first time since June 29, which is more than three months ago.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I want to congratulate my govt for the way we handled the Covid pandemic - better than all the countries in South Asia. <a href="https://t.co/r7RGc9xhvZ">https://t.co/r7RGc9xhvZ</a></p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1506476081167015938?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Statistics 23 Mar 22<br>Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 34,476<br>Positive Cases: 443<br>Positivity %: 1.28%<br>Deaths :0<br>Patients on Critical Care: 455<br>Alhamdolilah no COVID related death reported in last 24 hours! This is first time in almost 2 years! &#55356;&#56821;&#55356;&#56816; &#55356;&#56821;&#55356;&#56816; &#55356;&#56821;&#55356;&#56816;</p>— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) <a href="https://twitter.com/OfficialNcoc/status/1506350448382705665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today, as NCOC closes down, I want to congratulate the NCOC team & it's ldership for a professional, nationally-coordinated response to the pandemic. As a result our Covid response was recognised by int agenciies & people in the field as one of the most successful globally.</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1509422346846629891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Don’t think anyone can deny that Pakistan did a tremendous job in curtailing Covid so far. And lot of the credit has to go to the state
 
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has detected its first case of the Omicron sub-variant, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad reported on Monday, as the public gets back to routine life after Eidul Fitr celebrations without COVID-19 restrictions for the first time in two years.

A statement issued by the NIH on Twitter said it detected a case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 through genome sequencing. It said that the new sub-variant is causing increasing number of COVID-19 cases in different countries.

The NIH advised people to take the best preventive measure to avoid contracting the virus, which is vaccination against it.

"We strongly recommended getting vaccinated and all those due for boosters must get the shots immediately," the tweet read.

Director General Health Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar told Geo.tv that the Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 was detected in a traveller who had returned from Qatar.

He added that this sub-variant is seen in the recent spike in cases in the US. "The disease severity and hospitalisation remain the same as Omicron but data is limited as of now."

Pakistan reported 64 new COVID-19 cases overnight, official data issued by NIH showed Monday. With the fresh cases, the coronavirus positivity ratio stood at 0.49%. However, no deaths were reported during the last 24 hours.

Pakistanis have more or less not been following any COVID-19 related standard operating procedures since March 31, when the government scrapped all coronavirus restrictions across the country.

"The pandemic has not ended yet but undergoing the ending phase," the then planning and development minister Asad Umar had said while announcing the decision.

He said that the former national COVID-19 body NCOC decided to lift all coronavirus restrictions, including protocols for indoor dining, indoor wedding events and markets, sports activities and all the other SOPs across the country after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the country in detail.

On March 31, Pakistan announced the closure of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the body which was set up in March 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to collect, analyse and process information, transferring all its functions, roles and responsibilities to the NIH.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/415871-pakistan-detects-first-case-of-omicron-subvariant
 
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday ordered the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to be immediately restored after Pakistan reported the first case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1.

The NCOC was formed in March 2020 by the PTI government to oversee its response to the coronavirus pandemic. The forum provided the overall direction to provincial authorities on how to contain outbreaks and its data-driven approach kept the nation updated on daily cases, deaths, recoveries, and number of vaccinations. It was dissolved by the PTI last month after Covid cases in the country subsided.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's House, the premier took notice of the new variant of Omicron and its growing cases. "He has also sought a report from the National Institute of Health (NIH) over the current Covid-19 situation," it said.

The development comes a day after the NIH — which has been looking after Covid-related matters since the NCOC was formally shut down last month — revealed that the first case of the Omicron sub-variant, BA.2.12 had been detected in the country.

A health ministry official told Dawn that the patient tested positive at the airport and later, during genome sequencing, it was confirmed that he was infected with the new variant.

“We have decided not to mention the name of the country from where the patient had travelled to Pakistan. However, the new variant has been continuously spreading in different countries. The patient is feeling well and all his contacts have been quarantined at their home,” he said.

“Although the variant is more transmissible, the good thing is that all the vaccines are effective against it. So we request the masses to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest and those who have been vaccinated, should get their booster shots,” he cautioned.

The new Omicron sub-variant is a descendant of the earlier super-contagious “stealth Omicron” and has quickly gained ground in the US.

BA.2.12.1 was responsible for 29 per cent of new US Covid-19 infections in April's third week, according to data reported by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. And it caused 58pc of reported infections in the New York region.

The variant has been detected in at least 13 other countries, but the US has the highest levels of it so far. Scientists say it spreads even faster than stealth Omicron.

The development comes as Pakistan is witnessing a decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases, which have dropped significantly during the past few weeks. According to the NIH data, 64 new cases of the virus were reported across the country in the last 24 hours and their positivity rate was 0.49 per cent. As many as 92 patients were receiving critical care.

DAWN
 
^^^Why would they not name the country where the passenger came from?
I'm curious
 
As Covid-19 cases resurge across Pakistan, the positivity rate in the country's financial capital, Karachi, reached alarming levels to come in at 21.23 per cent on Thursday.

Data from the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed that on June 16, 53 people in the metropolis tested positive for the virus. The number of cases, however, more than doubled within a week as 138 people tested positive in the city on June 22 (Wednesday).
 
Pakistan reported more than 400 coronavirus cases for a second consecutive day on Sunday as Karachi's positivity rate was recorded as 21.71 per cent — the highest in the country.

Data released by the National Institute of Health (NIH) showed that 406 Covid-19 cases were reported across the country during the last 24 hours. A day earlier, 435 cases were reported — the highest number since March 22.

According to the NIH, 14,437 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours. The positivity rate was recorded as 2.81pc while two more deaths were also reported. In addition, 94 patients were in critical care, up from 87 a day prior.
 
Karachi's Covid-19 positivity rate on Monday crossed 22 per cent, the highest in the country, amid concerns of a surge in cases.

According to data shared by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the positivity rate in the metropolitan city was recorded as 22.65pc over the last 24 hours. Muzaffarabad came in second with a positivity rate of 6.25pc, followed by Nowshera with 5pc.

Interestingly, the positivity rate in several cities including Quetta, Diamer, Gilgit, Skardu, Bannu, Swabi, Swat, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Jhelum and Multan was recorded as 0pc.

The NIH also shared that 13,412 Covid-19 samples were tested during the last 24 hours, out of which 382 came back positive, down from 406 a day earlier. The national positivity rate was recorded as 2.85pc.
 
Coronavirus in Pakistan: NCOC makes face masks mandatory for domestic travel
Passengers will be required to wear face masks while travelling in busses, trains and planes, says NCOC

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid the recent spike in new cases of the pathogen, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday made the wearing of masks mandatory for domestic travel.

Passengers will be required to wear face masks while travelling in busses, trains and planes, said the NCOC.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had revised the travel advisory for domestic flights amid an increase in COVID-19 cases, making face maks mandatory for the passengers.

The development comes after the country reported a surge in the new infections with the experts warning that the increased travel is one of the reasons behind the spike in positivity.

According to a CAA notification, the concerned authorities have been ordered to ensure compliance with the new directives while the other COVID-19 guidelines on domestic air travel remained unchanged.

The air regulator had lifted restrictions after the country overcame the fifth wave of coronavirus, however, after the recent surge, the authorities are mulling to reimpose certain SOPs.

Karachi logs over 22% positivity rate
The latest government data showed that Karachi is the most affected city, reporting a high positivity ratio during the last few days.

The metropolis recorded 22.65% positivity in the last 24 hours while the nationwide ratio was 2.85%, the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) figures showed.

In view of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the country, the health experts had warned that the surge in new infections may turn into the sixth wave of the pandemic.

In Karachi, 234 new infections were detected after 14,437 diagnostic tests were conducted over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, Hyderabad reported 0.3% positivity rate, Mardan 2.44%, Islamabad 2.31%, Lahore 2.76%, Peshawar 3%, Sargodha 1.64% and Rawalpindi 1.05%.

In addition to this, Sindh’s overall positivity rate stands at 6.17%, Punjab’s 1.17%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 1.15% and AJK’s 2.94, said the NIH.

As per the latest statistics of the NIH, two more people succumbed to the virus in the country during the past 24 hours.

The fresh infections — detected after diagnostic testing on 13,412 samples — took Pakistan's COVID-19 positivity rate to 2.85% and the total case count to over 1.53 million.

Meanwhile, 87 patients suffering from the disease are being treated in intensive-care units (ICUs), while two others succumbed to the virus, taking the country's COVID-19 death toll to 30,390.

With the fresh cases and deaths, Pakistan's number of active cases stands at 4,632.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/969592-ncoc-makes-face-masks-mandatory-for-domestic-travel
 
KHURSHEED SHAH TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Water Resources and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, ARY News reported on Monday, citing sources.

According to sources, the federal minister has contracted the novel coronavirus after which he has quarantined himself.

Sources told ARY News that Khursheed Shah was suffering from fever and cough since last night. The minister’s test was carried out today which came back positive, they added.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 positivity ratio in Karachi has reached an alarming level of 22.65 percent, the highest in the country.

According to details shared by the health department, the positivity ratio in Karachi soared to 22.65 pc in the last 24 hours, followed by Muzzafarabad with 6.25 pc and Abbottabad with 4.17pc.

In addition, Islamabad’s was recorded as 2.31pc while Peshawar’s was 3.32pc. Cities including Quetta, Skardu, Swabi, Bannu, Multan, and Jhelum reported no COVID cases in past 24 hours, say the health department.

Earlier, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday made it mandatory for all passengers to wear face masks on all domestic flights, railways, and public transport.

The NCOC order came after the country witnessed uptick in the coronavirus infection rate.

https://arynews.tv/khursheed-shah-tests-positive-for-covid-19/
 
KARACHI, Pakistan, June 27 (Reuters) - Pakistan’s aviation regulator has made masks mandatory on domestic flights given a gradual rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, it said a statement.

The order comes a day after Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, reported that its COVID-19 positivity ratio, or the rate of positive cases out of all tests conducted, rose to 21% compared with a national rate of 2.8%.

"With immediate effect, mask wearing will be mandatory onboard domestic flights,” the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said in the statement late on Sunday.
 
Pakistan on Thursday reported 641 coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours — the highest number of daily cases in over three months since March 10, when the daily tally was 723 cases.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 18,813 Covid tests were conducted across the country yesterday, while two people died from the deadly virus. The national positivity rate now stands at 3.41 per cent.
 
ISLAMABAD: As the surge in Covid-19 cases continues unabated, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Thursday issued new guidelines suggesting unvaccinated people should not be allowed to enter government offices.

Moreover, 641 people were infected with the virus during the past 24 hours, with the national positivity rate touching 3.41 per cent. Two persons succumbed to the virus and 119 patients were on critical care.
 
Pakistan reports over 800 new cases as positivity climbs to 4.47pc

Pakistan on Saturday reported more than 800 cases — the largest daily increase in nearly four months — as the national positivity rate rose to 4.47 per cent.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 818 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, up from 694 a day earlier. The number is the highest since March 3 when the country had recorded 953 infections in a day.

The positivity rate also rose to 4.47pc from 3.93pc yesterday. NIH's data further showed that 18,305 tests were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, while 126 patients were in critical care. During this time, four people died from the deadly virus.

Karachi positivity still in the double digits
Meanwhile, Karachi remained the most Covid-affected city in the country with the positivity of 17.06pc. In the last 24 hours, 3,095 tests were conducted in the city of which 528 came out positive.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir's Muzaffarabad and Lahore followed with the positivity rates of 6.45pc and 5.58pc, respectively. In addition, Islamabad's positivity was recorded at 4.05pc, while in Peshawar it was 2.47pc.

In a statement yesterday, Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel called for the strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as wearing masks, maintaining social distance and sanitisation.

He said that the chances of the virus surging were higher because of the upcoming Eidul Azha festival and advised people to avoid attending public gatherings, hugging or shaking hands with people.

Patel had also requested ulema to ensure social distancing inside mosques and in religious gatherings.

Situation in Karachi
In a meeting yesterday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah received a briefing of the Covid situation in Karachi and instructed authorities to bring down the positivity rates before Eidul Azha.

He directed the public to follow SOPs and get vaccinated. "Eidul Azha and Muharram events are coming up. We have to bring down the coronavirus positivity rate prior to these events. People should take precautionary measures and reduce the rate," he said.

The chief minister warned that the government could be compelled to take stricter measures if the positivity rate was not reduced.

Earlier, Sindh Health Minister Azra Pechuho had ruled out a lockdown in the city and instead suggested the return of certain protocols and curbs in indoor spaces, including the wearing of face masks and social distancing measures.

“The city cannot be forced to go under another lockdown, which is why it is highly necessary that the community at large understands the importance of Covid SOPs and follows them,” a statement issued after the meeting quoted her as saying.

“Masks must be made mandatory for all indoor spaces, especially cinemas and the like so that there is not any more increase in infection. People are not taking precautions that they used to take which is another reason the cases of Covid-19 [cases] are increasing.”

Pechuho also hinted at higher number of cases than being documented suspecting that there was also a significant portion of the population who were using at-home antigen tests and isolating without informing healthcare workers.

“Even though many people think that vaccines provide little resistance to new variants, they do provide some protection,” she added.

The sixth wave
Earlier, medical experts warned that the spike in cases might turn into a sixth wave. Speaking to Dawn, Dr Saeed Khan, a professor of molecular pathology heading the Sindh Public Health Lab at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), said a new Omicron subvariant — the BA.5 — fast spreading in other countries had been reported in Pakistan, including Karachi, and now it was being locally transmitted.

“While other [old] sub-variants of Omicron are also being reported in Karachi, this one is more contagious since it’s a new one and has been cause of concern in other parts of the world,” he said, adding that unvaccinated, the elderly and people with compromised immunity were particularly vulnerable.

“If didn’t pay heed to medical advice and start implementing the Covid-related preventive measures seriously, the spike in cases might turn into the sixth wave of coronavirus,” he said.

According to Dr Khan, there are multiple reasons behind the fast spread of the variants. “They are genetically different, which help them transmit fast. Other reasons include waning of vaccine immunity after six months, reluctance on part of the general public to get a booster shot and absence of Covid-19 preventive measures at public places.”

Dawn News
 
Sindh govt relaxes business hours
Relaxation will last till Edul Azha on July 11

KARACHI:
The Sindh government on Sunday relaxed early market closure timings and suspended all notifications pertaining to operational hours of businesses "in the public interest" for a week.

The amended notification was enforced with immediate effect, allowing businesses and market to operate late at night till July 10 in view of Eidul Azha.

The timings have been eased to facilitate the traders and the public, the notification issued by the provincial government said and added that the restrictions will be re-enforced from July 11.

"In view of Eidul Azha, the Government of Sindh is pleased to suspend the operation of this department notifications […] regarding imposing restrictions on closing hours of various shops, restaurants, wedding halls, etc in the territorial jurisdiction of Sindh province with immediate effect," the notification read

The decision came a day after the Punjab government its loosened its restrictions concerning the closure of markets at 9pm, allowing traders and shopkeepers to avail the relaxation till July 9, the eve of Eidul Azha.

The Punjab Government had on Saturday announced the "big news" on its official Twitter handle.

Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee Chairman Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad had earlier this week announced that the Zilhaj moon was not sighted and Eidul Azha will fall on July 10 (Sunday).

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said: "No testimony of the moon being sighted was received from any part of Pakistan."

Therefore, it was decided with a unanimous consensus that Eidul Azha would be celebrated on July 10.

The Sindh government had ordered to close all markets, shops, and shopping malls in the province by 9pm, even in the commercial hub of Karachi, whereas wedding halls were to be shut by 10:30pm and hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and cafes by 11pm.

The provincial government had stated that the measures were being taken in light of the country's energy crisis.

The crisis, it added, had prompted the Sindh government to invoke sections of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Act, 2010 and issue an order to reduce operational hours of shops and restaurants.

However, shops in many areas continue to flout the early closure orders and stay open till late in the night.

Moreover, representative bodies of traders say that they had agreed to early closure, subject to end of load-shedding.

As per traders of Rex Shopping Centre, a major retail hub for leather goods, whether they close early or not, power outages continue.

Express Tribune
 
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday issued new guidelines for prayers and qurbani — with masking up and social distancing among the measures — on Eidul Azha to curb the resurgent Covid-19 in the country.

Pakistan has seen a spike in coronavirus cases since June, primarily attributed to the new BA.5 sub-variant of Omicron. After months of near normalcy, the new guidelines harken back to the time of the early waves of Covid.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the country reported 653 new infections in the last 24 hours, while the positivity rate clocked in at 3.45 per cent.
 
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