Islamabad (Web Desk): The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Wednesday made it compulsory for all citizens to wear face masks particularly in bazaars, shopping malls, public transport and restaurants after reports of increasing COVID-19 cases.
According to details, the NCOC held a meeting in Islamabad with Minister for Planning Asad Umar in the chair.
The forum directed the provinces to ensure compliance of wearing of face masks and other Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) against COVID-19.
It was decided in the meeting that weaning of face mask is mandatory both in government and private offices.
The meeting was briefed that the positivity ratio of COVID-19 cases has increased in eleven major cities of the country.
The centre informed that there are 4,374 lockdowns imposed in 11 major cities of the country, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpur, Quetta, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Gilgit and Muzaffarabad.
On Tuesday, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on health Dr Faisal Sultan warned of new restrictions as number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the country has increased over the past few days.
“The imposition of more restrictions is becoming “unavoidable” due to growing number of cases and deaths in the country,” said Dr Faisal while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday.
“The Coronavirus death rate has increased in the country,” Dr Faisal said, adding that that the positivity ratio had surged to 2.5-2.75 percent. The SAPM said that the masses were not adhering to coronavirus precautions as they should, given the pandemic was still far from over.
The total number of recovered COVID-19 patients in Pakistan reached 311,814 on Wednesday after another 374 virus recoveries were reported during the last 24 hours.
Over the last twenty four hours, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 330,200 after 825 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country.
Overall, 144,449 cases were reported in Sindh, 103,314 in Punjab, 39,189 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 15,859 in Balochistan, 19,300 in Islamabad, 4,200 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 3,889 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
According to the government's Covid-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached 6,759 with 14 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.
