Coronavirus in Pakistan: NCOC decides to extend restrictions till April 13

• Decision taken during meeting chaired by Asad Umar
• NCOC meeting on April 12 to discuss implementation of measures for compliance with SOPs during Ramazan
• The third wave of the virus has intensified across Pakistan, with more than 5,000 testing positive in a single day

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Friday said it was extending the coronavirus restrictions announced earlier to April 13.

The decisions, according to the country's nerve centre on tackling coronavirus, was taken during a meeting of the NCOC chaired by Asad Umar.

The forum said an NCOC meeting will be held on April 12 to review how the coronavirus SOPs and restrictions imposed by the government during the month of Ramazan to curb the virus, will be implemented.

The NCOC had announced various restrictions across the country a few days earlier, as the third wave of the coronavirus intensified across the country with over 5,000 testing positive for the virus on a single day, multiple times in the past few weeks or so.

Curbs on business, public transport

In view of a surge in coronavirus cases in the country, the NCOC had issued renewed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain the virus a few weeks ago, saying that these would be implemented with immediate effect.

As per the new guidelines, all businesses are only be allowed to operate five days a week, while all commercial activities will be closed by 8:00pm in areas with a positivity ratio greater than 8%.

The forum had expressed grave concern over the current COVID-19 situation in the country and unanimously agreed to implement some high impact interventions in cities and districts with a high positivity ratio.