NCOC recommends ban on restaurant dine-in, public gatherings

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has recommended closure restaurant dine-in services and a ban on public gatherings in a new set of restrictions to curb the rising number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country.

NCOC, Restaurant dine-in, Public gatherings, coronavirus — NCOC recommends ban on restaurant dine-in, public gatherings.

According to the details, the NCOC has recommended to limit all sorts of public gatherings, including political, religious, cultural, entertainment and civil society in nature, to a maximum of 500 people.

Furthermore, the body has also put forth recommendation to close indoor dine-in at restaurants while allowing outdoor dining and takeaways till 10pm in order to control the spread of the coronavirus.

These recommendations came after meeting of the NCOC chaired by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar regarding the surge in coronavirus cases in the country.

NCOC has once again recommended to ban all large public gatherings. Rapid increase in positivity requires urgent steps to save lives & livelihoods. Since mid October, when NCC first considered the NCOC recommendation to ban large public gatherings daily cases have nearly tripled
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) November 11, 2020

Some other suggestions by the NCOC include closure of temporary closure of shrines with immediate effect while also taking notice of the decline in compliance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) at mosques.

Moreover, the NCOC has also recommended immediate closure of cinemas and theatres across the country and the early closure of markets with designated safe days to take control of the spread of coronavirus.

“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 SOPs”, urged minister Asad Umar.

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 sop's. Consensus needed in NCC for taking this decision, which has been delayed due to lack of consensus
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) November 11, 2020

Restricts on indoor weddings

It is pertinent to mention that the government has already placed a ban on indoor weddings in some major cities from 20th November while allowing outdoor marriage events with a upper capacity of 1000 guests.

While in some cities, the government has allowed indoor wedding ceremonies but with a 300 guest limit while outdoor wedding functions will be limited to 500 guests.

Work from home policy

The government has already implemented a work from home policy and ordered both public and private sector to limit urban centers to cut number of employees coming into work in half as part of the second phase of measures to control the coronavirus spread.

Coronavirus Cases in Pakistan

Coronavirus in the country has seen a significant surge in cases during the last few days with 7,021 cases being reported in the last 24 hours along with 21 deaths which is the highest in months.

Hence, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has recommended closure of restaurant dine-in services and ban on public gatherings along with other measures to take control of the situation before it gets out of hand.

As a result of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the government has also placed several areas in Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi under smart lockdown as well.

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