No need to follow SOPs except mask wearing

RAWALPINDI: There is almost no need of following Standard Operating Procedures particularly Non-pharmaceutical Interventions except wearing mask in the country including the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi as all COVID-19 related restrictions have been removed for vaccinated individuals.

Coronavirus is still hitting population in Pakistan though the positivity rate of COVID-19 has dropped down to below one per cent. Data collected by ‘The News’ on Monday reveals that another 17 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 from Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi district in the last 24 hours recording a positivity rate of around 0.75 per cent.

Following NPIs is no more mandatory anywhere in Pakistan except wearing mask however COVID-19 test is still required for all patients in need of hospitalization, said COVID-19 District Surveillance Officer Rawalpindi Dr. Waqar when contacted by ‘The News’ on Monday.

He said there are no restrictions regarding timing and other NPIs in the markets in this region like other parts of the country as per decision taken by National Command and Operation Centre. He explained that all COVID-19 restrictions have been removed for fully vaccinated individuals though they would have to wear mask.

It is important that the NCOC has relaxed NPIs and issued a notification in this regard on March 17 according to which only fully vaccinated individuals can avail dining facilities, attend weddings/gatherings, visit cinemas, shrines, gyms, offices and participate in contact sports, etc all over the country. In the last 24 hours, another 12 patients from ICT have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 while from Rawalpindi district, five individuals have been tested positive taking the total number of confirmed patients so far reported in the region to 177,921 of which 2,355 patients have lost their lives. There were 290 active cases of the disease in the twin cities on Monday including 218 patients from ICT and 72 from Rawalpindi district. COVID-19 has so far claimed 1,333 lives from Rawalpindi district from where as many as 42,958 patients have been reported of which 41,553 have recovered.