Covid claims 135 lives in a day in Pakistan

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday unveiled a new set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to curb the spread of the raging third wave of the pandemic during the holy month of Ramadan, as the country recorded 135 more deaths—the highest single day Covid-19 fatalities in 2021 so far.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), in a special meeting chaired by planning minister Asad Umar, decided to implement broader lockdowns with stringent enforcement protocols where no mobility will be allowed except in emergency situations.

Saturdays and Sundays will be observed as closed days at the national level. All indoor and outdoor activities — including social, cultural, political, sports and other miscellaneous events — will be banned. Outdoor dining will be allowed from Iftar till midnight (11:59pm) with strict SOPs, while takeaways will be allowed, a notification read. Cinemas, shrines and amusement parks will remain closed, it added.

Besides, inter-provincial transport will remain suspended for two days a week —Saturdays and Sundays, while markets will operate from Sehri till 6pm.

For Taraweeh prayers, the NCOC said it should be organised in open spaces as far as possible. The forum called upon civil administration at every tier to engage Ulema and community leaders for assistance in the enforcement of Covid-19 SOPs during Ramadan.

Stringent protocols for tourism have also been imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and tourist sites elsewhere in the country.

The country on Wednesday had 76,757 total active cases with 4,681 more people tested positive for the virus, while 3,645 people recovered during the last 24 hours.

As many as 135 corona patients died during the past 24 hours leading to Wednesday, of whom 126 were under treatment at hospitals, according to the latest update issued by the NCOC. Most of the deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Around 641,912 people have so far recovered from coronavirus across the country making it a significant count with over 90 per cent recovery ratio of the affected patients.