Islamabad (Web Desk): The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday issued new guidelines due to concerns over increasing cases of COVID-19 across the country.
According to a statement, the decisions were taken during an NCOC session held today in Islamabad with Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in the chair.
As per the fresh guidelines, the restrictions on limit of people for indoor and outdoor weddings will continue till February 15.
A complete ban on indoor weddings has been imposed, while outdoors weddings have been restricted to 300 fully vaccinated individuals.
A ban on all types of indoor gatherings, including dine-in, has also been imposed, whereas outdoor dining and takeaway have been allowed.
Indoor gatherings, including weddings, of up to 300 people will be allowed in cities where COVID-19 positivity rate is up to 10%, while outdoor gatherings with a maximum limit of 500 guests have been permitted.
The educational institutes will remain open with stringent COVID protocols while offices will continue working with 100% attendance for fully vaccinated people however work from home will be encouraged.
The NCOC has however directed for 50% attendance of students below 12 years of age in districts where the COVID positivity ratio is above 10%.
Indoor and outdoor gatherings, cinemas, amusement parks and sports activities will continue but only for fully vaccinated people.
The forum will meet again on January 27 to review the situation.
On the other hand, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 1,338,993 on Wednesday after 5,472 new cases surfaced in the country during the last 24 hours.
As per the NCOC data, 57,669 tests were conducted in last 24 hours while positivity ratio remained 9.48%.
According to the government's COVID-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached to 29,037 with 8 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.
Over the last twenty four hours, total number of recovered COVID-19 patients across the country reached 1,265,239 after another 628 virus recoveries were reported.