No lockdown or further restrictions, PM Imran Khan orders NCOC to step up coronavirus preparedness instead

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) to come up with a future course of action to mitigate the second wave of the coronavirus, but did not authorise any further restrictions on economic and social activity.

The prime minister issued the directives while chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC).

PM Imran Khan directed all stakeholders to strike a balance "between disease control measures and livelihood of people". He also stressed ramping up hospital care to cater to any rise in coronavirus.

The NCOC had apprised the prime minister about the current coronavirus situation, the current pattern of the disease spread and the increasing positivity ratio of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the NCC endorsed all recently announced safety measures by the NCOC, including implementation of orders to wear face masks in public and reduce timings of markets, restaurants, marriage halls, and enforcement of smart lockdowns.

Pakistan records over 1,000 cases

Federal ministers had attended the meeting in person, while chief ministers joined the meeting via video link.

Pakistan registered 1,167 coronavirus cases on November 2 — nearly 1,000 cases more than the country had registered a month ago on October 2.

The country has registered a total of 336,260 coronavirus cases, 6,849 deaths, and 315,446 recoveries so far, according to the official figures.

The prime minister had said earlier in the day that Pakistan "cannot afford" another lockdown.

Increased restrictions

The federal authorities have issued multiple warnings in the past few days on the ignorance towards implementation of Covid-19 SOPs as a second wave hits the country.

Last week, NCOC issued fresh rules regarding the closure of wedding halls and shopping malls and made the wearing of face mask mandatory.

"NCOC has tightened restrictions on some high-risk public activities but the rising spread of the disease can only be controlled if people believe in the need for precautions," said Umar. 

Wedding halls, restaurants 'high contributors'

Early this month, NCOC said that it has observed wedding halls and indoor restaurants to be "high contributors" to the spread of the contagious disease.

Following the observation, on October 9, the body issued new guidelines for wedding halls, saying that it was officially restricting the number of guests and limiting functions till 10pm.

For indoor events, a maximum of 300 guests has been allowed and for outdoor events, a maximum of 500 guests, with the gathering to only last 2 hours.

The statement said that if wedding halls are found to be in violation of the SOPs then they will be closed off at a “specified time” and a heavy fine will also be imposed. It further said that the closure of SOPs-defying wedding halls will come into effect two weeks after the notices are served so people get “sufficient time” to search for alternate venues.