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The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday announced the loosening of a number of restrictions tightened a few days earlier to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The NCOC allowed the opening of schools in districts where the COVID-19 positivity ratio is less than 5%.
NCOC chief Asad Umar convened a meeting in which Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, chief secretaries of all provinces, Islamabad, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and members of relevant authorities took part.
The meeting undertook a detailed review of the virus prevalence in the country. Following the meeting, the media was taken into confidence about important decisions locked regarding the restrictions.
It was announced that interprovincial public transport will stay up and running but will remain closed on weekends.
The forum decided that examinations – professional and non-professional – will take place on case-to-case basis as per the recommendations by the Ministry of Education.
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The statement from the NCOC announced that restrictions will be kept upon shrines, indoor gyms, cinemas, indoor dining, amusement parks (except jogging and walking tracks), contact sports, cultural festivals, all types of outdoor and indoor gatherings.
NCOC further said that another detailed review will be done on May 27 and June 7 respectively.
The COVID-19 watchdog of Pakistan announced that a critical monitoring of the disease prevalence and the functioning of health care system is being carried out daily. It announced that further necessary steps will be taken to control the disease spread.
Earlier in the day, the NCOC reviewed the existing non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in a meeting chaired by Asad Umar.
The forum said that wearing masks outdoors is to remain compulsory, but assured that innovative measures for enforcement are being taken.
The current land border and inbound policy will stay intact till further orders.