NCOC likely to lift ban on dine-in services next month

ISLAMABAD: All Karachi Restaurant Association (AKRA) delegation on Friday met with National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Director General Major General Asif Mehmood Goraya here in Islamabad, ARY News reported.

During the meeting, the AKRA delegation requested the NCOC director-general to allow dine-in services at restaurants as the coronavirus positivity ratio has declined in the country.

The NCOC DG Asif Mehmood assured the delegation that the forum will lift the ban on dine-in services from Jul 1st.

The NCOC fully aware of the problems being faced by the restaurants association due to Covid-19 restrictions, he said.

The NCOC in its meeting held on May 19 had allowed outdoor dining at restaurants till 11:59 pm with 24/7 takeaway service.

The NCOC had also announced to reopen parks, swimming pools and water parks in specific districts. The forum also allowed outdoor marriage ceremonies with a maximum of 150 people.

National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) head Asad Umar today foresaw a fourth wave of Covid-19 hitting Pakistan in July.

In a statement on his official Twitter account, the planning and development minister said a meeting of the NCOC reviewed an artificial intelligence-based disease modeling analysis.

“In the absence of strong SOP enforcement and continued strong vaccination program, the 4th wave could emerge in Pakistan in July,” Umar said, urging people to adhere to the SOPs and get themselves vaccinated against the virus as soon as possible.

44 more people lost their lives to COVID-19 over the past 24 hours in Pakistan, pushing the nationwide death toll to 22,152.

According to the NCOC, 1,052 new cases of the virus emerged during the said period. The overall number of the confirmed cases currently stands at 952,907. It said Pakistan recorded Covid-19 infection rate at 2.29 during the last 24 hours.