Curbs eased in cities with less than 10% positivity rate

ISLAMABAD:

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to ease restrictions in cities having less than 10 per cent coronavirus positivity rate while maintaining curbs in Gilgit, Mardan and Muzaffarabad.

The forum, which serves as the nerve centre of the government’s unified strategy against the pandemic, reviewed the ratio of Covid spread across the country.

The NCOC issued a notification announcing easing the Covid restrictions. According to the statement, the number of participants in the indoor gatherings has been increased to 500 from 300 while permission has also been granted for outdoor gatherings and functions.

The capacity of passengers in public transport has been increased to 80 per cent from 70 per cent while curb on serving beverages during travel will remain in place till February 28.

The notification said that the capacity of passengers in railways has been increased to 100 per cent from 80 per cent and that the educational institutions have been allowed to fully resume activities following the standard operating procedures.

Covid restrictions have also been lifted in Karachi, Hyderabad and Peshawar.

The country reported at least 1,360 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours. During the same time, at least 31 people succumbed to the virus and 1,315 recovered.

Sindh reported at least 373 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 561,750 whereas Khyber-Pakhtunkwa’s number of cases reached 215,087.