NCOC starts easing Covid curbs as cases decline

RAT abolished for inbound passengers; increased capacity for HBL PSL matches allowed

ISLAMABAD:

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has begun easing some Covid-induced curbs on Monday as the number of fresh cases as well as the high death toll in recent week showed a significant decline, the data showed.

The NCOC, the nerve centre of the government’s anti-pandemic strategy, decided to do away with the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for the inbound passengers from Tuesday (today) besides allowing increased capacity at stadiums for the remaining HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches.

Planning Minister Asad Umar, who heads the forum, chaired a session which discussed the epidemic data, progress in national vaccination, inbound health protocols and the second phase of the ongoing HBL PSL, said a statement issued after the meeting.

“RAT test for inbound passengers on arrival at Pakistani airports has been abolished with effect from 8th February. However, RAT test will continue to be conducted for deportees from foreign countries and for non-vaccinated individuals arriving from land border terminals,” the statement said.

The NCOC also allowed the National Horse and Cattle Show to be held in Lahore from March 10-12, with 100% participation of the audience. The forum stated that fully vaccinated adults and unvaccinated children under the age of 12 years would be able to attend the show.

Read: Daily jab records achieved in past three days: Umar

The forum said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had been allowed to conduct the HBL PSL matches in Lahore with 50% stadium capacity for fully vaccinated spectators till February 15, and 100% stadium capacity for fully vaccinated spectators from 16 February and onwards.

The first phase of the HBL PSL matches were played in Karachi, where the NCOC had allowed 25% participation, as the fifth wave of the pandemic took a firm hold the city with more than 45% positivity ratio. For Lahore, the NCOC also allowed un-vaccinated children under 12 years of age.

For the past few weeks, the country had been in the grip of the fifth wave of Covid-19, driven by the superspreader Omicron variant, which saw the single day tally of fresh cases top 8,000 for the first time since the outbreak of the disease. Last week the daily death toll also rose to four-month high of 48.

However, Monday’s decisions signal an improving coronavirus situation with infections falling and the positivity rate declining. On Monday, the forum reported 3,338 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, down from 4,874 a day earlier.

The national positivity rate stood at 7.5pc. The forum said 4,905 patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, reducing the tally of active cases to 89,192. It added that 1,684 patients were in critical condition in various Covid-dedicated hospitals across the country.

The single day death toll from the deadly contagion also declined, yet it remained on the higher side. The NCOC reported 38 fatalities during the past 24 hours, raising the nationwide death toll since the pandemic outbreak in February 2020 to 38.

Separately, the NCOC said that 38% of the country’s population and 56% of the eligible population had been vaccinated against the Covid-19 so far. It said that 1,842,955 people had been given anti-Covid jabs across the country during the last 24 hours, raising the tally of vaccinated people to 185,916,838.