(Islamabad) Pakistan on Tuesday reported 33 deaths due to the
coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the data issued by the National
Command and Operations Centre (NCOC). The country's COVID-19 death toll stands
at 7,193- with the last 193 deaths being reported in just eight days. The NCOC
data shows Pakistan recorded 14,606 new coronavirus cases in the past seven
days; bringing the total tally to 361,082 today with 2,050 new cases. The
number of active cases stands at 29,055. The case positivity rate also shot up
to 7% this week. The recovery rate is steady at 90% as a total of 324,834
COVID-19 survived the virus.
Wear masks;
says PM Imran Khan
Addressing the nation after a
meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Covid-19 on Monday; PM Imran
Khan urged the public to wear masks; observe social distancing; and follow
coronavirus SOPs. PM Imran Khan said the NCC had decided to ban public
gatherings of more than 300 people including political rallies and weddings.
Only outdoor weddings are allowed. The authorities have allowed indoor dining
for now but encouraged masses to order in or take away instead. All of this
will be reviewed next week.
No consensus on schools
The education ministers also
held a special meeting on Monday; chaired by Federal Minister of Education
Shafqat Mahmood; to decide on the NCOC recommendation to announce early and
extended winter vacations. Since there was no consensus; the decision was
deferred till next week. Balochistan government; however; announced early
winter vacations today. The provincial education minister said winter vacations
will start from December while the new education year will begin three months
later in March.
NCOC
recommendations
Last week; the NCOC forwarded a
list of emergency measures to contain the rapidly increasing coronavirus spread
in the country. Federal Minister for Planning and Development and NCOC chief
Asad Umar said the NCOC had recommended limiting all public events - including
cultural; political; religious; entertainment; and civil gatherings - to 500
people. It also suggested allowing only outdoor dining till 10:00 pm; shutting
down cinemas and theatres; and closing down shrines. The NCOC also suggested an
early closing of markets and safe days. It recommended notifying early and
extending winter vacations to federal and provincial education departments;
keeping in view the rising positivity rate in educational institutions.
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