Covid protocols for mosques take effect

NCOC says hospital admissions soar past 1,000

ISLAMABAD:

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided on Saturday to implement the new standard operating procedures (SOPs) for mosques as the fifth wave of coronavirus continue to spread unabated. The NCOC, which serves as the nerve centre of the government’s unified strategy against the pandemic, said that number of patients admitted to hospital soared above 1,000 as the national tally of active cases rose to over 62,000, the highest level since September 26, 2021.

On Friday, the NCOC recommended the new guidelines for the places of worship as well as the educational institutions in Covid hotspots. The new guidelines had come as single day tally of new cases crossed 7,000 mark for the first time during the pandemic. The NCOC reviewed of the current situation in the country and agreed to implement the series of protocols to stem the virus’ spread, said a notification issued here on Saturday. It said that only vaccinated individuals would be allowed to enter the mosques and other places of worship.

Besides, the notification said, the entrants would have to wear masks and maintain a social distance of six feet along with frequent hand sanitisation. The forum directed for removing carpets and a minimal attendance during the prayers. It advised that prayers should preferably be held at open spaces, while doors and windows of the prayer hall be kept open. It advised the elderly and people with co-morbidities to “preferably offer prayers at home”. It recommending that ablutions be performed at home and Friday sermons should be brief.

The NCOC also announced on Friday to close all schools for one week in areas where the positivity ratio was very high. It, however, allowed provincial administrations, district health, education authorities, and school administrations, to set the threshold of cases for deciding such closures. The forum decided to conduct aggressive testing in education institutes for next two weeks, especially in high disease prevalence cities. “Federating units will carry out special vaccination drives in schools to ensure 100% vaccination of students over 12 years of age,” it added.

The notification came as the number of patients in critical care in hospitals rose to 1,055, up from 961 a day earlier. According to the NCOC daily update of the disease. It added that the number of active cases also rose to 62,344. During the last 24 hours, the forum said, 6,540 more people tested positive for the infectious disease, while 12 people lost lives to the deadly virus. The national positivity ratio during the past 24 hours remained 11.10%, down from 12.93% a day earlier.

The forum also issued vaccine statistics, revealing that 758,982 shots were administered across the country during the past 24 hours. So far, Pakistan has vaccinated 171,470,850 people, which makes up 35% of the total population and 52% of the eligible population. Pakistan is currently grappling with the fifth wave of the pandemic. The highly-contagious Omicron variant has once again prompted the government to impose restrictions to curb its spread. The government has been encouraging the people to adopt safety precautions, and to get vaccinated.

(WITH INPUT FROM NEWS DESK)