Cinemas to operate till 1am, with entry for vaccinated persons only.

Tariq Butt, Correspondent

Keeping in view the downward trend in coronavirus infections, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday announced to lift some restrictions that put in place owing to the third COVID-19 wave in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, with 20 new fatalities, Pakistan reported on Monday its lowest daily deaths from coronavirus since the start of the third wave in late February.
Before this, the country last reported 16 deaths in a day from the virus during the third wave on Feb.21. Pakistan’s positivity rate currently stands at 2.5%.

In the last 24 hours, 44,496 COVID-19 tests have been conducted. Of these, 914 came back positive. This was revealed in the NCOC's daily statistics.

A student receives a dose of CanSino Biologics' vaccine at a university in Islamabad on Monday. AFP

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, who also heads NCOC, chaired a meeting of the forum in Islamabad during which the situation due to COVID-19 in Pakistan came under discussion in detail.

Satisfied with the overall situation, the NCOC announced to lift various COVID-19 restrictions from July 1 owing to the downward trend in infections across the country. The NCOC meeting also allowed markets across the country to remain open till 10pm.

Meanwhile, the NCOC has proposed summer holidays in the nationwide educational institutions from July 18. However, the Punjab government has opposed it.

The NCOC suggested summer break between July 18 and Aug.1 but the Punjab government said the holidays should take place from July 2 to Aug.2. The matter will now be decided by the inter-provincial education conference of the NCOC. The meeting will be called soon for the purpose.

Following are some of the decisions taken by the NCOC:

Indoor wedding ceremonies will be allowed from July 1, 2021, with 200 COVID-19 vaccinated people; The marriage hall administration will check the COVID-19 vaccination certificate of guests attending the wedding; Outdoor wedding ceremonies allowed with 400 people; Indoor dining allowed at hotels and restaurants with 50percent capacity; Vaccination certificate declared mandatory for indoor dining; Business hours extended till 10pm; Opening of cinemas and shrines allowed from July 1 with SOPs; Only vaccinated people would be allowed to enter cinemas; Opening of Indoor gyms allowed; Public transport to operate with 70pc capacity; and Wearing of face masks, social distancing, smart lockdowns will continue.