KARACHI: Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has banned meals and snacks on flights from January 10, it said on Saturday, amid a surge in the number of coronavirus infections.
The South Asian nation on Saturday reported 4,286 new coronavirus infections, its highest caseload since the end of August, as a fifth COVID-19 wave sweeps the country, driven by the highly transmissible omicron strain of the virus.
The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees Pakistan’s pandemic response, met on Saturday to discuss the disease prevalence and proposed non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in the wake of rising number of infections, especially in urban centers.
“Amid rising trend of disease across the country, detailed stock of the disease situation and currently enforced NPIs was carried out at NCOC,” the CAA said in a notification.
“Accordingly, forum decided to impose ban on serving of meals/snacks in domestic air travel and public transport with effect from 17 January [20]22.”
The CAA directed officials to ensure dissemination of the new directives on priority.
The last time Pakistan reported over 4,200 new cases was on August 25, 2021, when 4,467 people tested positive for the virus in a single day.
The omicron variant was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong in November, with the first known case in Pakistan identified last month in a woman who had no travel history outside the country.
The NCOC asked all federating units to take strict measures against those violating government-proposed precautionary measures, including wearing masks and maintaining a safe social distance at public places. It asked authorities to ensure strict enforcement of obligatory vaccination regime and existing NPIs.
The pandemic response body also asked provinces to carry out immediate surveys of health care facilities, fast-track vaccination drive and ramp up efforts to achieve vaccination targets.
Pakistan bans meals, snacks on flights from Monday amid rising coronavirus cases
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Pakistan bans meals, snacks on flights from Monday amid rising coronavirus cases
- Country is facing fifth COVID-19 wave, driven by highly transmissible omicron strain
- South Asian nation reported 4,286 new infections on Saturday, its highest since August
Pakistan PM orders strategy to improve project execution as multilateral lenders propose reforms
- Shehbaz Sharif says he will personally lead a steering committee to speed up priority projects
- Four working groups proposed to streamline approvals, procurement, land issues and staffing
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed officials to draw up a detailed strategy to improve the planning and execution of development projects, saying he would personally chair a steering committee aimed at ensuring timely and transparent completion of priority schemes.
The move came during a meeting where the World Bank and Asian Development Bank presented recommendations to the government on strengthening project implementation.
According to the prime minister’s office, participants received a briefing that said project approvals involve multiple steps and need simplification, while timely procurement and better readiness tools could also help accelerate implementation.
“National projects of critical importance must be completed transparently and on time,” Sharif told officials, according to the statement. “This is our priority.”
He said the federal and provincial steering committee on development-sector reforms would be headed by him.
The statement said four working groups were also proposed during the meeting: one to review approval and preparation processes, a second to modernize procurement, a third to address land acquisition and resettlement challenges, and a fourth to focus on human-resource alignment and staff deployment for development schemes.
Sharif thanked the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for their support and said development projects must be aligned with the objectives of Pakistan’s Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) and provincial Annual Development Plans (ADPs).
The meeting was attended by senior federal ministers, provincial representatives, senior civil servants and the country directors of both multilateral lenders.
