ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday issued fresh standard operating procedures (SOPs) for government office to protect against the coronavirus as cases of the infection rose across the country.
Pakistan reported 641 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the highest single-day toll since March 10 when the country reported 723 coronavirus cases, according to official data from the health ministry. The surge in COVID-19 cases has pushed the coronavirus positivity ratio in the country to 3.41 percent.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired an important meeting to take stock of the coronavirus situation in the country, urging masses to take precautions against the infection.
“Awareness campaigns for staff must be arranged [at government offices]; they must also be guided for taking care of the family members as well,” the National Institute of Health (NIH) said in a notification today, Thursday. “They must also be guided to avoid overcrowded places.”
Other directives issued by the NIH included prohibiting staff from shaking hands, mandating wearing face masks and incorporating social distancing in seating plans and during prayers.
Pakistan disbanded the National Command and Operations Center, its main pandemic response body, on March 31 as infections fell to the lowest since the outbreak began in 2020.
However, the South Asian country on May 23 reconstituted the NCOC at the NIH after health officials detected a new omicron sub-variant in a passenger arriving from Qatar. The new sub-variant of omicron is said to be highly infectious, though not as deadly as previous coronavirus strains.
After the rise in COVID-19 cases, Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) last week made it mandatory for all passengers on domestic flights to wear masks as a protective measure.
Authorities are also urging all eligible individuals not to delay getting booster vaccine shots.
