Despite a continued spike in the number of new Covid-19 cases, Pakistan’s National Coordination Committee (NCC) has ruled out imposing a complete lockdown in the country to stem the virus spread.
The decision was taken during a meeting of the NCC on Tuesday presided by Prime Minister Imran Khan, reports Dawn news.
The NCC also endorsed all the measures announced late last month by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), which included strict implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOP) at public places and reduction in timings for markets and commercial activities.
It also decided to continue the smart lockdown policy.
Addressing the media here on Tuesday, Khan said: “We have decided that we will not close down businesses and industries. In case of the rise in coronavirus cases, we will close only those things which do not damage the industries.
“Otherwise, we will run the businesses and industries, but with SOPs.”
He also appealed to the public to wear face masks to avoid spread of the pandemic.
According to the NCOC, Pakistan reported a total of 1,167 new coronavirus cases and 14 deaths in the last 24 hours, Dawn news reported.
With the latest tallies, the country’s overall caseload and death toll stood at 337,029 and 6,857, respectively.
Most of the new cases were reported in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Hyderabad, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Peshawar and Quetta.
–IANS
ksk/
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor