NCOC closes operations as Covid-19 indicators hit ‘all-time low’ across the country

NCOC closes its operations from today as Covid-19 indicators hit an ‘all-time low’ across the country.

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) was established for handling the Covid-19 pandemic in Pakistan.

The National Disaster Management Authority spearheaded the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

However, on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the NCOC was established in April 2020 to collect, analyze, and process COVID-19-related data from all provinces and federally administered territories including AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad.

The formal announcement was made by the NCOC head and Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar in a tweet, saying, “Today is the last day of NCOC operation. With covid indicators at all-time lows & high levels of vaccination, the baton is now being passed on to the health ministry. Chairing NCOC during the last 2 years & working with the most dedicated team has been the greatest privilege and honour of my life.”

“With Allah’s mercy & support of the entire nation, we have been able to overcome this unprecedented challenge. Makes me immensely proud as a Pakistani that Pak received praise for its covid response as one of the most successful in the world from global agencies & personalities,” he added.

Later PM Imran Khan also praised the efforts NCOC made in handling the pandemic.

“Today, as NCOC closes down, I want to congratulate the NCOC team and its l[ea]dership for a professional, nationally-coordinated response to the pandemic,” the PM said in a tweet.

“As a result, our Covid response was recognised by int[ernational] agencies and people in the field as one of the most successful globally,” PM added.