NCOC finally gives its verdict on schools' closure, places bans in cities with high COVID-19 rates

By
Amina Amir
|
January 19, 2022

No more indoor dining, weddings for cities with over 10% coronavirus infection rates, says NCOC

People line up for having their first dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, as the government started vaccination for the general public, starting with elderly people, at a vaccination center in Karachi, Pakistan March 10, 2021. — Reuters/File


ISLAMABAD: After a brief delay, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) finally issued Wednesday revised coronavirus guidelines and SOPs for the education, restaurant, entertainment, and other sectors as Pakistan continues its battle against a fifth wave of the pandemic and struggles to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

In cities and districts with positivity higher than 10%, the classes for children under 12 years will continue on "staggered" days, while classes will be conducted daily for fully-vaccinated students above 12 years of age.

In the cities and districts which have a positivity ratio of up to 10%, classes will continue as usual, but with stringent COVID-19 protocols intact, as per NCOC's guidelines.

With effect from February 1, at least one dose for students above 12 years will be mandatory and no exemption other than medical reasons will be entertained, the NCOC guidelines stated.

"Aggressive sentinel testing in educational institutions will be carried out for targeted closures in high disease prevalence education institutes," the NCOC said.

Federating units in consultations with health authorities will set a number of cases or infection rate as the benchmark for closure of education institutes, the forum stated.

The decisions were taken during an NCOC session held today in Islamabad with Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in the chair, a statement from the forum said.

The forum took a "detailed review" of the current trend of the pandemic in the country and after a "deliberate and consultative process", it has agreed upon the following non-pharmaceutical interventions:


For cities/ districts with positivity above 10%:

Gatherings/Weddings:

Dinning

Gyms

Cinemas

Shrines

Amusement Parks

Sports

Education sector


Cities with less than 10%

Gatherings/weddings

Dining

Gyms

Shrines

Parks

Sports

Education


Restrictions imposed across Pakistan

Business timings

Public transport

Railways

Office Routine

Domestic Air travel /meals

Education sector

Mask wearing

Extended lockdowns



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