ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has decided to determine the COVID-19 related restrictions in cities on the basis of the ratio of people vaccinated there.
Briefing the media persons following the NCOC meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said that it has been decided to relax restrictions from Friday in eight cities including Skardu, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi where 40 percent population aged 15 and above has been vaccinated against the disease.
NCOC has decided to relax restrictions in 8 cities with the highest level of vaccination. These include quetta, peshawar, islamabad, rawalpindi, mirpur, muzaffarabad, gilgit and skardu. Also effective oct 1 a number of restrictions will be imposed on adults not fully vaccinated
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) September 29, 2021
Asad Umar said that indoor gathering of 300 people and outdoor gathering of 1,000 people are now being allowed in these cities.
In addition, the shrines and cinema halls are being opened in these cities for the fully vaccinated people.
The minister said that indoor restaurants and wedding halls in these cities will now also remained open seven days a week. He said that other cities will continue to face previous restrictions.
The only way out of the covid pandemic is to get high percentage of citizens vaccinated. Therefore as part of the strategy to reward citizens & cities which vaccinate, there will be higher restrictions on cities with low level of vaccination & on citizens who are not vaccinated
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) September 29, 2021
In his remarks on the occasion, the Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr. Faisal Sultan said that the process of vaccination is being taken forward successfully.
Dr. Faisal Sultan said that a total of 12 percent population across the Country has been vaccinated against COVID-19. He was confident that the vaccination will get further momentum in October 2021.
The special assistant said that the vaccination has now also been opened for those aged 12 and above in order to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of the education sector. He once again made it clear that the anti-COVID vaccine is totally safe and carries no risks.