LAHORE: The government Wednesday announced the government would remove all remaining coronavirus restrictions in Pakistan, including mandatory self-isolation for people with the disease, as the nation “has come close to eliminating the health crisis”.
Earlier this month, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) lifted nearly all coronavirus-related restrictions, allowing schools, offices, restaurants, gyms, movie theatres, and wedding halls to reopen.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said the NCOC has decided to end the remaining restrictions.
However, the restrictions on the unvaccinated would remain, he added.
The development came as the nation confirmed 493 new Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours, the NCOC data showed.
The NCOC, the department leading the nation’s campaign against the pandemic, said the number of confirmed cases has increased to 1.52 million while 1.47 million of them have recovered.
Statistics 16 Mar 22:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 34,698
Positive Cases: 493
Positivity %: 1.42%
Deaths :4
Patients on Critical Care: 567— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) March 16, 2022
The daily Covid-19 death toll has witnessed a downward trend recently as four people succumbed to the virus on Tuesday, taking the total number of coronavirus deaths to 30,317, said the statistics.
The active cases have also dropped to 17,512 after 1,003 patients recovered on Tuesday. There are 567 patients in critical condition and they are being treated at intensive care units in hospitals across the country.
Today, Umar observed there was a consistent decrease in cases while the number of critical infections was the lowest since October 2020.
In addition, 87 percent of the eligible population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine while 70 percent have been fully vaccinated. The minister cited the vaccination rates as the reason behind the reduced spread of the disease.
“We need a transition process towards a normal, ordinary life because it seems at the moment that the pandemic will continue and become a part of our lives.”
Meanwhile, Sindh remains the most-affected province of the country in terms of the caseload, with 572,555 infections, followed by Punjab, which has reported 504,045 cases.
Umar said the government will continue to monitor the disease prevalence on a daily basis.
He also congratulated the nation for the way it faced a “very big challenge” and implemented all instructions issued by the federal response body.
“The government could not do it alone which is why the NCOC was formed [and] all governments, in the Centre and provinces, implemented and consulted together. Pakistan Army had a very big role. All the operational work of the NCOC was the responsibility of a special army contingent,” he said.
He also highlighted the role of healthcare workers, especially female healthcare personnel.
In his remarks, Minister of State for National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan urged the nation to get vaccinated and continue to observe precautionary measures such as wearing masks, especially at congested places, to avoid another wave of Covid-19.
