Sindh imposes fresh COVID-19 curbs in Karachi, Hyderabad in line with NCOC directives

• Order has been issued as per the decision of the NCOC to launch a special drive to enforce additional restrictions.
• Indoor wedding events, indoor dining at restaurants banned.
• Outdoor wedding events, outdoor dining allowed with prescribed guests, time limits.

KARACHI: The Sindh Home Department on Friday announced fresh coronavirus-related restrictions in Karachi Division and Hyderabad District of the province.

An official notification issued by the Home Department said that the order has been issued as per the decision of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to launch a special drive to enforce the restrictions, especially for wedding halls, marquees, restaurants, and hotels, on September 3 and 4.

“The NCOC has decided to launch a special non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) enforcement drive especially for wedding halls/marquees and restaurants/hotels on 3rd and 4th September 2021, in high disease prevalence cities i.e Karachi and Hyderabad,” read the notification.

It also states the mechanism devised by the NCOC for the enforcement of restrictions.

The mechanism is divided into separate categories stated below.

Wedding halls and marquees

The NCOC has asked that authorities ensure that no indoor wedding events are organised in the aforementioned areas.

It further recommends that outdoor wedding events do not have guests exceeding 300, the maximum limit defined for organising wedding events, and are not continued beyond 10pm, the prescribed time limit.

Moreover, the NCOC has asked that authorities ensure that indoor dining services are not offered anywhere in the two cities and that outdoor dining services are not offered beyond the prescribed time limit of 10pm.

In addition to this, the authorities must ensure that COVID-19 protocols are adhered to at wedding events and eateries across the stated areas.

According to the notification, the authorities are requested to seal wedding halls, marquees, restaurants, or hotels and arrest the elements involved in case of a violation of the restrictions.

Moreover, the concerned authorities are requested to organise a obligatory vaccination drive, starting September 1 to 15, which must be prominently displayed at wedding halls, marquees, hotels and restaurants. 

The Home Department’s notification also directs the concerned authorities to submit a daily record of the implementation of the above mentioned directives to the department, which will be forwarded to the NCOC.

NCOC imposes a new set of COVID-19 restrictions

The NCOC earlier in the day decided to impose a new set of restrictions in the federal capital, besides selected districts of Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 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.