From October 1: No basic services for people not jabbed

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Tuesday warned that basic services would not be available to the unvaccinated people from October 1 and advised the people to get their COVID-19 vaccine jab at the earliest.

The Centre took to twitter to announce the warning as part of its Obligatory Vaccination regime to ensure maximum complete inoculation of the eligible population. The forum wrote, "Warning! From October 1, all facilities used in daily life will be closed to all people who have not been vaccinated.

"The forum emphasised the general public to get their vaccination done as soon as possible and keep life going. The Centre also decided to lift additional non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in six high districts due to gradual decline in disease prevalence.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar chaired a NCOC meeting called to review the gradual decline in the disease and remove additional restrictions from the districts of Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Sargodha, Gujarat and Bannu after 22 September.

The general NPIs would remain enforced till September 30 across the country which would be reviewed on September 28, 2021 at the NCOC. The NCOC is closely monitoring the disease spread and the healthcare system on a daily basis.

The Centre has urged the masses to complete their vaccination process without any delay. People should get SinoPharm vaccine jab administered at their nearest vaccination center, the Forum said. Meanwhile, the national tally of COVID-19 active cases on Tuesday was recorded 62,922 with 1,897 more people testing positive and 2,618 recovering during the last 24 hours.

Eighty-one corona patients died during the 24 hours out of which 72 were under treatment in different hospitals and nine perished in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the NCOC. Most of the deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Sindh.

Out of the total 81 patients who died during the 24 hours, 29 were on the ventilator. There were 4,846 infected patients under treatment in critical condition with six more patients admitted in the 24 hours to various COVID dedicated healthcare facilities of the country.

The national positivity ratio during the 24 hours was recorded 4.1 percent. The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major cities including Multan 86% Lahore 64% Sargodha 60% and Bahawalpur 40%.

Around 545 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country, while no COVID affected person was on ventilator in Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan (GB). Some 46,231 tests were conducted across the country on Monday, including 12,306 in Sindh, 18,198 in Punjab, 9,011 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 4,408 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,268 in Balochistan, 356 Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and 684 in AJK. Around 1,137,656 people have recovered so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio.

Since the pandemic broke out, a total of 1,227,905 cases have been detected that also included the perished, recovered and under treatment COVID-19 patients so far, including AJK 33,821, Balochistan 32,772, GB 10,257, ICT 104,348, KP 171,589, Punjab 423,670 and Sindh 451,448. About 27,327 deaths were recorded in country since the eruption of the contagion.

Around 7,289 people perished in Sindh, 12,449 in Punjab, 5,426 in KP, 904 in ICT, 344 in Balochistan, 182 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 733 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. A total of 18,950,039 tests have been conducted so far, while 640 hospitals are equipped with COVID facilities across the country.

Our Lahore correspondent adds: The Punjab government has imposed lockdown restrictions and now the markets will close by 10pm. The restrictions will remain in force from September 23 to September 30. Sunday shall be observed as closed day.

The Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD), in a notification issued on Tuesday exempted the essential services, which will continue round the clock. Industrial and agricultural activities and establishments shall remain exempt from

operation of the order.