NCOC asks provinces to take strict measures against violators of existing coronavirus SOPs, especially those not wearing masks
ISLAMABAD, Jan 15 (SABAH): The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday reviewed the existing protocols and called on the health and education ministers to suggest a new set of guidelines amid the fifth wave of coronavirus that has worried the government.
The new set of SOPs will be put forth in a meeting on January 17, with its focus on schools and the education sector as a whole, public gatherings, marriage ceremonies, indoor/outdoor dining, and the transport sector, according to a statement issued on Saturday.
The development came during a session of the NCOC, which was held to review the coronavirus trends in the country as the positivity ratio crossed 8%.
The forum discussed the epidemic curve chart data, disease prevalence, and proposed NPIs in wake of rising disease trends in the country, especially in the urban centres, it said.
Amid rising cases in the country due to the Omicron variant, the forum decided to extensively engage with provinces, especially with the Sindh government for necessary measures to tackle the rising coronavirus numbers.
With regards to the aviation sector, the NCOC decided to implement a complete ban on inflight serving of meals and snacks with effect from January 17, the statement said.
The NCOC has asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to ensure inflight mask-wearing and also implement COVID-19 SOPs at all airports.
Similarly, serving meals and snacks in public transport will also be banned with effect from January 17.
The forum asked the federating units to take strict measures against violators of existing SOPs, especially those not wearing masks. It also directed them to ensure enforcement of obligatory vaccination regime.
NCOC also directed federating units to strictly enforce existing protocols especially in transport, education, and sectors; and in public spaces like restaurants and wedding halls.
Moreover, federating units were asked to carry out immediate surveys of health care facilities (including oxygenated beds), oxygen stocks, and reserves, the statement said.
The NCOC directed all quarters to fast-track vaccination drive and ramp up efforts to achieve vaccination targets, it added.
Meanwhile the Sindh government on Saturday decided that schools across the province will remain open even as the Omicron-driven fifth wave of Covid-19 spreads at an alarming rate.
The decision to continue educational activities was taken in a meeting of the Provincial Task Force on Covid-19 presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
The meeting’s participants also decided that all public and private hospitals will be surveyed in order to determine their current capacities and to ascertain what more is needed.
It was also decided to strictly implement Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs). Furthermore, wearing masks at public places, markets and wedding halls was declared mandatory.
The government officials who do not wear masks would be fined, which, it was suggested, could be equal to their one day’s salary.
Additionally, it was instructed that food at wedding events would be served in boxes.
Meanwhile, only vaccinated people would be allowed to enter markets, with the management required to check the record of vaccination cards.
It was also decided to further speed up the pace of vaccination efforts across the province.
“The increase in Covid cases is the result of not taking precautionary measures. If the people cooperate, then this ongoing Covid wave will also be brought under control,” the chief minister said.
The meeting participants also decided that restaurants will be monitored and action be taken against those that did not comply with Covid SOPs.
Another session of the task force will be held after a few days, with the chief minister adding that further decisions will be taken upon a review of the situation then.
Sharing details on the COVID-19 situation, CM Shah said Friday 23 of 24 samples were found to be of the Omicron variant in Karachi when they were analysed through Next Genome Sequencing and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) at Karachi’s Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) and Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).
He maintained so far, 430 infections of the Omicron variant have been detected in Karachi, adding that 3,089 new cases of COVID-19 were reported when 15,719 tests were conducted in Sindh.
The chief minister said out of 3,089 new cases, 2,846 have been detected from Karachi.
Hyderabad has reported 104 cases, Shaheed Benazirabad 25, Sujawal 22, Naushahroferoze 19, Matiari 15, Mirpurkhas 14, Tando Allahyar 11, Tharparkar eight, Badin and Sanghar seven each, Larkana six, Umerkot five, Dadu and Ghotki four each, Sukkur three, Kashmore and Tando Muhammad Khan two each, Jacobabad and Jamshoro one each.