by Raheela Nazir
ISLAMABAD, Mar 17 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Pakistani government decided to scrap all COVID-19 related restrictions nationwide, amid a continuous downward trend in the number of new cases, with experts and officials calling for continued surveillance and vaccination process.
Asad Umar, chairman of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), which oversees the country’s response to the pandemic, said yesterday that, Pakistan is removing restrictions, as it has come close to eliminating the pandemic in the country.
“We have decided to end all the restrictions we have imposed related to the virus. We are ending them all… We need a transition process towards a normal, ordinary life,” he said.
However, he said, all restrictions on citizens not vaccinated would remain in place, until 80-85 percent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated, adding that, the government would keep monitoring the disease prevalence on a daily basis, to decide for any change in policy in future.
Pakistan witnessed a major decline in the daily COVID-19 case count. The country reported 493 new infections over the past 24 hours, with the positivity rate falling to 1.42 percent, yesterday.
Pakistani experts and officials believe that, though the restrictions are being lifted, the threat of the pandemic is not over yet, urging the public to continue taking precautions and vaccines, to fully defeat the deadly disease.
Talking to Xinhua, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, on health, Faisal Sultan said, Pakistan has successfully overcome the challenge of COVID-19, due to prudent policies and measures.
Provincial governments, healthcare professionals, media, and scholars played a vital role in controlling the pandemic, he said, adding that, vigorous vaccination process helped the country in curbing the virus spread.
At the moment, over 70 percent of eligible population has been fully vaccinated, and over 80 percent received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, “which is quite encouraging,” for the country of over 220 million population, Sultan said.
Calling the termination of COVID-19 restrictions “a positive sign” for the country, Fawad Khan, an Islamabad-based health expert, said, as the government has taken the risk of opening up the country for the sake of people, now responsibility lies on the people’s shoulders, to keep following standard operating procedures.
“The government and health institutions should continue its surveillance and vaccination campaign dynamically, to ensure COVID-19 would not raise its ugly head again in Pakistan,” he told Xinhua.– NNN-XINHUA
