Pak bans gatherings in COVID-19 hotspots to counter third wave

Pakistan has imposed a ban on gatherings including wedding ceremonies in cities and districts where the COVID-19 test positive rate is above 8 per cent, as a part of new restrictions to contain the third wave of coronavirus.

The ban will be effective from April 5, Dawn reported. Along with weddings, all kinds of indoor and outdoor gatherings were also banned with immediate effect. This order includes all social, cultural, political, sports gatherings and other events.

Pakistan Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar chaired the session which was attended by the chief secretaries of all four provinces via video link.

In the meeting, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided the ban would extend to both indoor and outdoor weddings, however, "provinces will be at liberty to implement restrictions in [an] early time frame as per the situation on ground".

Meanwhile, in a televised message, Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly urged the public to follow Covid-19 SOPs and the necessary precautions, cautioning that the third wave of the virus in Pakistan was "more intense" than the first two waves.

Pakistan recorded more than 4,000 cases for a third straight day on Sunday with 4,767 new coronavirus cases and 57 deaths in the last 24 hours.

This marks the highest single-day increase since June 21, 2020, according to data collected by Dawn.com, when 4,916 cases were reported.

Umar said the decision to tighten restrictions was taken keeping in mind the "continuing increase in disease spread and the fast pace at which hospital fill up is taking place", particularly pointing to the increase in cases of critical Covid patients.

( With inputs from ANI )