Coronavirus claims 33 more lives in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday reported 33 deaths due to the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the data issued by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC).

The country's COVID-19 death toll stands at 7,193 — with the last 193 deaths being reported in just eight days.

The NCOC data shows Pakistan recorded 14,606 new coronavirus cases in the past seven days, bringing the total tally to 361,082 today with 2,050 new cases. The number of active cases stands at 29,055.

The case positivity rate also shot up to 7% this week. The recovery rate is steady at 90% as a total of 324,834 COVID-19 survived the virus.

Wear masks, says PM Imran Khan

Addressing the nation after a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on COVID-19 on Monday, PM Imran Khan urged the public to wear masks, observe social distancing, and follow coronavirus SOPs.

PM Imran Khan said the NCC had decided to ban public gatherings of more than 300 people including political rallies and weddings. Only outdoor weddings are allowed.

The authorities have allowed indoor dining for now but encouraged masses to order in or take away instead.

All of this will be reviewed next week.

No consensus on schools

The education ministers also held a special meeting on Monday, chaired by Federal Minister of Education Shafqat Mahmood, to decide on the NCOC recommendation to announce early and extended winter vacations.

Since there was no consensus, the decision was deferred till next week.

Balochistan government, however, announced early winter vacations today. The provincial education minister said winter vacations will start from December while the new education year will begin three months later in March.

NCOC recommendations

Last week, the NCOC forwarded a list of emergency measures to contain the rapidly increasing coronavirus spread in the country.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development and NCOC chief Asad Umar said the NCOC had recommended limiting all public events — including cultural, political, religious, entertainment, and civil gatherings — to 500 people. It also suggested allowing only outdoor dining till 10:00 pm, shutting down cinemas and theatres, and closing down shrines.

The NCOC also suggested an early closing of markets and safe days. It recommended notifying early and extending winter vacations to federal and provincial education departments, keeping in view the rising positivity rate in educational institutions.