NCOC concerned over rising corona cases

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday held a meeting to express concern over the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country and directed provinces to ensure the strict implementation of the coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on the occasion of Eidul Azha.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, while all provincial chief secretaries attended the meeting through video links.

During the meeting, a discussion related to the violations of the SOPs in different sectors also took place. After being briefed about the situation, the minister instructed the provinces to ensure the strict implementation of the SOPs. He also directed the provinces to ramp up their coronavirus vaccination drives, reported Geo News.

The NCOC also issued special instructions for the occasion of Eidul Azha to ascertain that the number of COVID-19 cases does not escalate. Meanwhile, Umar told the attendees that the western border of the country has been closed since June 17 due to the worrying coronavirus situation arising in Afghanistan.

He added that the government is making arrangements to bring back Pakistanis who have been stranded in Afghanistan. The NCOC also said that individuals who have been vaccinated would be required to quarantine for 10 days if they test positive for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the national tally on Wednesday of total active COVID-19 cases was recorded 34,013 with 1,517 more people testing positive for the deadly virus and 877 people recovering from the disease during last 24 hours.

Seventeen corona patients have died during past 24 hours, 16 of whom were under treatment in the hospitals and one of them perished in their respective homes or quarantine facilities, according to the latest update issued by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC). Most of the deaths occurred in Sindh and followed by Punjab. Out of the total 17 deaths occurred, 10 of them died were under treatment on ventilators.