Only vaccinated people will be allowed to enter wedding halls, cinemas starting July 1

Only vaccinated people will be allowed to enter wedding halls, cinemas starting July 1, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) said on Monday.

NCOC has also recommended partial resumption of indoor dining for ‘vaccinated persons’ across the country.

The decision was taken in a meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and co-chaired by National Coordinator Lt Gen Hamood Uz Zaman Khan which reviewed the current coronavirus situation and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in the country.

The forum agreed on a number of decisions to be implemented from July 1 to 31 with a review on July 27, according to the press release.

The following decisions have been taken by the NCOC:

• Indoor and outdoor dining is allowed till 11:59 pm. However, indoor dining at 50pc occupancy is allowed for vaccinated individuals only
• Restaurants and hotel management would have to set up mechanisms to check vaccine certificates of visitors and also ensure vaccination of their staff.
• Timings for business and commercial activities were also being extended to 10 pm while essential services would continue to operate 24/7.
• 400 guests would be allowed for outdoor weddings subject to Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Management of wedding halls to institute mechanisms for checking vaccine certificates of attendees and ensure staff vaccinations.
• Cinemas are allowed to re-open with strict Covid protocols for vaccinated individuals only till 1 am
• Shrines have also been allowed to reopen at the discretion of federating units and local administrations subject to strict adherence to Covid-19 SOPs.

However, that NPIs would continue to remain enforced such as “broader lockdowns with stringent enforcement protocols based on risk assessment” and the NCOC would continue to share maps of Covid-19 hotspots with federating units to implement lockdowns, the press release noted.