Ban on indoor weddings and dining extended in Karachi, Hyderabad

• Notification comes after NCOC's decision to extend curbs in cities with over 10% COVID-19 positivity.
• Outdoor dining allowed in Karachi and Hyderabad. 
• Outdoor weddings with a maximum of 300 fully-vaccinated guests allowed.

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Wednesday notified the extension in the already imposed ban on indoor wedding events and gatherings in Karachi and Hyderabad till February 21, as directed by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

The Home Department's notification for the extension comes a day after the NCOC's decision to keep the restrictions, initially enforced on January 19, in place in the cities and districts with COVID-19 positivity rate higher than 10%.

The notification stated that the indoor dining and wedding events/gatherings will remain restricted with various other curbs in Karachi and Hyderabad till February 21.

Meanwhile, the outdoor dining and outdoor wedding events/gatherings will be allowed in the two cities with a maximum of 300 fully-vaccinated guests.

Karachi, with 10.67% positivity rate, and Hyderabad with 12.21%, as of Tuesday, were listed among four other cities with over 10% positivity.

However, the latest stats showed that Karachi reported 8.47% and Hyderabad reported 5.67% positivity on Wednesday.

COVID-19 restrictions extended in six cities till Feb 21

After witnessing a drop in the positivity ratio of COVID-19 in the country, the NCOC on Tuesday announced to extend the coronavirus curbs only in the cities with COVID-19 positivity rate higher than 10% for at least three days.

The NCOC had directed all the concerned authorities to notify about the extension of restrictions at priority.

The cities/districts where the restrictions will remain imposed are as follows:

• Gilgit
• Muzaffarabad
• Mardan
• Karachi
• Hyderabad
• Peshawar

The forum said that the restrictions will be reviewed again on February 21 and a decision to further extend or lift the curbs will be taken in accordance with the situation.