ISLAMABAD: The government said on Tuesday it was important to prevent the spread of COVID-19 without weakening the economy only a few days after it announced that the second wave of the pandemic had hit the country.
Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity rate has increased to 4.17 percent in recent weeks from 1.23 percent in August. The South Asian nation of 220 million registered 1,167 coronavirus cases on November 2, nearly 1,000 more than it had registered a month ago on October 2.
Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a high-level meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Tuesday to discuss the ways and measures to stem the second wave of the virus without undermining the pace of the economy.
He directed all the stakeholders during the meeting to strike a balance “between disease control measures and livelihood of the people,” besides ramping up hospital care to deal with any further spike in the coronavirus infections.
“The NCC endorsed all recently announced measures of the NCOC [National Command and Operations Center], including implementation on wearing of face mask, reduce timing of closing of markets, restaurants, marriage halls and enforcement of smart lockdowns,” the Prime Minister Office said in a statement after the meeting.
Islamabad enforced a strict lockdown of all public places, including markets and education institutions, from March to June to stem the spread of the virus. The country succeeded in bringing down the daily coronavirus cases to 330 in August, but the infections crossed the 1,000 mark again in recent weeks.
The government has issued multiple warnings in the past couple of days to ensure strict implementation of health guidelines in public places. Last week, it came up with fresh rules regarding the closure of wedding halls and shopping malls and made the wearing of face mask mandatory.
The wedding halls and indoor restaurants were found to be “high contributors” to the spread of the contagious disease, the government said while restricting the number of guests to 300 for indoor events and 500 for outdoor marriage ceremonies. It also allowed such functions to last only for two hours.
“We want the wheel of economy to keep running,” the prime minister said while addressing the nation along with his team after a meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad.
Medical experts and public health practitioners on the other hand have urged the people to follow the government’s health guidelines like wearing of face masks to prevent the virus spread.
“The virus is spreading fast again, and the only solution to beat it is through wearing face masks and ensuring social distancing at public places,” Dr. Qaisar Sajjad, secretary-general Pakistan Medical Association, told Arab News.
![]()
PM rules out complete lockdown as COVID-19 second wave sweeps Pakistan
Short Url
https://arab.news/6wr5d
PM rules out complete lockdown as COVID-19 second wave sweeps Pakistan
- The government reduces market timings as the virus positivity ratio crosses four percent in the country
- The Pakistan Medical Association urges people to strictly follow health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.