NCOC announces new Covid-19 restrictions for major cities with high positivity rate

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Friday has issued new restrictions for major cities of the country with high Covid-19 positivity rate and higher disease spread potential, as part of stage two of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

The rule pertains to Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Hyderabad, Gilgit, Muzzafarabad, Mirpur, Peshawar, Quetta, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, and Abbottabad.

The NCOC has directed the implementation of a “Gilgit-Baltistan model” whereby face masks must be made compulsory in the aforementioned cities, to be implemented from November 7th, Saturday.

In GB, failure to do so results in a penalty of Rs100 and three masks issued on the spot. Authorities have been advised to issue similar penalties in these locations.

Indoor weddings will be banned starting Nov 20; outdoor weddings will be allowed with a maximum of 1,000 people permitted to attend.

The NCOC has also decided to instruct government and private institutions to cut their workforce in half. Only 50% of their employees will work in offices while the rest will work from home.

Furthermore, “Relatively broader” smart lockdowns will be imposed in hotspot areas.

The country’s major cities with “high positivity and higher disease spread potential”, have been asked to enforce the ban.

The decision will go into effect from November 20, 2020.