ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Amid the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in the Country, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has once again recommended to ban all large public gatherings.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives and the Chairman NCOC Asad Umar said that the rapid increase in the COVID-19 positivity rate requires urgent steps to save lives and livelihoods.
Asad Umar said that since mid-October 2020, when the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on COVID-19 first considered the NCOC recommendation to ban large public gatherings daily cases have nearly tripled.
The minister said that the national political leadership across the political spectrum needs to demonstrate leadership to send a message to the entire nation for taking preventive steps and follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The federal minister further said that consensus needed in the NCC for taking this decision, which has been delayed due to lack of consensus.
In the last 24 hours, 1,708 people tested positive for COVID-19 and 21 succumbed to the disease in the Country.
