ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has deferred immediate closing of educational institutions in the country and paced up vaccination and testing process as the ongoing fifth wave of the coronavirus was spreading in the country.
In its meeting today, the NCOC observed that increase in vaccination and implementation of SOPs can curb spread of the pandemic in the country.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar chaired the meeting and it was attended by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan as well as provincial health and education ministers.
In a statement issued today, the NCOC said, “Decision about educational institutions closing will be taken on the basis of data of positive cases of various institutions.” The NCOC further said that a large-scale testing was being carried out to determine the rate of Covid in the country.
Meanwhile, the NCOC under the chairmanship of Umar had decided to call up a meeting of provincial education and health ministers to take fresh measures of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) or Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) with a special focus on the education sector, public gatherings, marriage ceremonies, indoor/ outdoor dining, and the transport sector.
The NCOC decided to extensively engage with the provinces, especially the Sindh government for necessary measures to tackle the rising disease. The meeting also decided to implement a complete ban on in-flight serving of meals/snacks from January 17.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was asked to ensure in-flight mask-wearing and also implement SOPs at all the airports. Serving of meals and snacks in public transport will also be banned with effect from January 17.
Pakistan reports over 4,000 Covid-19 cases
Meanwhile, Pakistan reported another 4,340 Covid-19 cases on January 16, the highest since August 25 when it recorded 4,553 infections, as the country continued to witness the spread of the new Omicron variant.
The country’s positivity ratio was recorded at 8.71% during the last 24 hours after 49,809 tests were conducted. So far, 1,328,487 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Pakistan.
There are currently 35,982 active cases, while 781 cases are critical. During the last 24 hours, seven deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 29,019.
