Web Desk — The National Command and Operation Center banned indoor gatherings, weddings, and dining in districts and cities where Covid-19 positivity rates are greater than 10% as part of new curbs meant to combat the pandemic’s fifth wave driven by Omicron.

According to a press release, the decision was among various nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) decided that will remain in effect from Jan 20 to 31. A review will be conducted on Jan 27 to assess the situation. However, the ban on indoor dining will begin on January 24.

Following a review of the country’s current Coronavirus situation along with the corresponding NPIs, NCOC made the decision. The new NPIs were differentiated based on whether districts had a Covid-19 positivity rate greater than or equal to 10pc.

In seven cities, a positivity rate of more than 10 percent was recorded over the last 24 hours, according to NCOC data. Karachi had the highest positivity rate at 40.13pc, followed by Muzaffarabad at 21.43pc, Lahore at 15.15pc, Hyderabad at 13.98pc, Islamabad at 11.80pc, Peshawar at 10.68pc, Rawalpindi at 10.26pc.

Based on the positivity rate and specifying that they are for fully vaccinated individuals, the NPIs will be as follows:

Gatherings:
Up to 300 people may attend indoor gatherings, 500 may attend outdoor gatherings for districts with positive ratings of up to 10%.

For districts with a positivity rate of more than 10 percent, indoor gatherings are banned, and outdoor gatherings are limited to 300 (from Jan 24 onwards)

Weddings:
For districts with a positivity rate of up to 10 percent, indoor weddings are permitted for up to 300 individuals and outdoor ones for up to 500 individuals.

Indoor weddings will be banned, outdoor weddings will be limited to 300 for districts with a positivity rate higher than 10 percent (effective from January 24 and will remain in effect until February 15).

Dining:
Dining indoors and outdoors is allowed for districts with a positivity rate of up to 10 percent.

with effect from Jan 24), outdoor dining is allowed in districts with a positivity rate of more than 10%.

Education Sector:
The education program will continue for those under and over 12 in districts with a positivity rate of up to 10 percent.

In districts with a more than 10% positivity rate, education will proceed with staggered attendance at 50% for those under 12 and 100% for those over 12.

In both cases, those over 12 will need to be fully vaccinated
As of February 1, vaccinations (at least one dose) will be mandatory for all those over 12 years of age.

For targeted closures in institutes with high disease prevalence, aggressive sentinel testing will be conducted.

The federating units will consult with the health authorities about the limits for closing educational institutions.

Gyms, cinemas, shrines, amusement parks:
Indoor activities allowed for districts with a positivity rate up to 10pc.

Indoor activities allowed at 50pc capacity for districts with a positivity rate of more than 10pc.

Sports:
All sports activities allowed for districts with a positivity rate up to 10pc.

Ban on contact sports (karate, boxing, martial arts, rugby, water polo, wrestling, and kabaddi) for districts with a positivity rate of more than 10pc.

NCOC decided markets and business activities would continue without restrictions and those normal working hours would be followed with 100pc employee attendance, provided that they are fully vaccinated. Working from home is, however, encouraged.

During public transportation trips, 70 percent of passengers wear masks, while 80 percent of railroad passengers will wear masks continuously. Public transportation and domestic flights were also prohibited from serving meals.

At the same time, the country is in the grip of the fifth wave, which is driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

A total of 5,472 new coronavirus infections have been reported in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, marking the highest daily caseload since August 4 when 5,661 infections were reported.