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ISLAMABAD: In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid the fifth wave of the pandemic in the country, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has summoned a meeting of the provincial education and health ministers meeting on January 17.
The meeting of the provincial education and health ministers will suggest a new set of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) focusing on the education sector, public gatherings, marriage ceremonies, indoor/outdoor dining and transport sector, according to t a statement issued today.
The decision was made during a meeting of the NCOC in Islamabad. The forum discussed the epidemic curve chart data, disease prevalence and proposed NPIs in wake of rising disease trends in the country, especially in the urban centres.
The NCOC decided to extensively engage with provinces, especially with the Sindh government for necessary measures to tackle the rising disease.
The meeting also decided to implement a complete ban on in-flight serving of meals/snacks from January 17.
The Civil Aviation Authority was asked to ensure in-flight mask-wearing and also implement SOPs at all the airports. Serving of meals and snacks in public transport will also be banned with effect from January 17.
The forum asked federating units to take strict measures against violators of SOPs especially mask-wearing and to ensure enforcement of obligatory vaccination regime.
NCOC directed all the quarters to accelerate the ongoing vaccination drive and ramp up efforts to achieve vaccination targets.