ISLAMABAD - The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Tuesday approved strict guidelines and safety protocols for holding Eid-ul-Fitr prayers across the country.

According to the guidelines, Eid prayers should be organised at open spaces with Covid protocols. In case, if there was compulsion to offer Eid prayer in mosques then windows and doors should be kept opened for good ventilation to reduce risk of infection and disease transmission.

However, in order to reduce gatherings two to three Eid prayers at a venue with staggered timings and minimum strength be held. The clerics and religious leaders are advised to keep the sermon brief in order to reduce the prayer timings as the virus spread was on rise.

The guidelines discouraged the sick, elderly and children below 15 years of age from attending the Eid prayers. As per guidelines, wearing face or surgical mask is mandatory. It is also necessary to erect multiple entry and exit points at prayer venues to avoid jumbling up of individuals and reduce risk of congestion.

The mosque management or authorities responsible for organising Eid prayers are directed to ensure thermal screening at entry points, availability and use of hand sanitisers and six feet social distancing markings at the venue. The worshipers should bring their own prayer mats and also perform wudhu (ablution) at home.

Walk-in vaccination for all 40 plus starts today

The safety protocols also underscored to discourage socialising or embracing and handshakes at the venue after prayers. However, no gathering is allowed before and after the prayer usually observed after Eid prayers. Moreover, banners and panaflex highlighting Covid protocols should be displaced at the prominent places as part of awareness campaign whereas well laid out parking areas should be prepared for crowd management.

 

In the wake of ongoing restrictions imposed till May 16, 2021, the NCOC urged for greater national resolve to strictly adhere the standard operating procedures to control the spread of pandemic.

It urged the nation to stand united and firm to support these steps undertaken for its well being.

The NCOC session chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and National Coordinator Lieutenant General Hamood uz Zaman Khan was held to take review of mobility control measures being implemented across the country from 8th to 16th May. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Health Dr Faisal Sultan also joined the session via video link.

 

‘Corona death toll crosses 19,000-mark’

The country’s coronavirus death toll has crossed the 19,000 mark after the country reported 113 new fatalities during the last 24 hours.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the country reported 113 more deaths during the last 24 hours. The officials said that 38,883 tests were conducted during the past 24 hours and 3,084 people tested positive for the infection. The total number of Covid cases in the country is 864,557 and the death toll is 19,106. The positivity rate is 7.93 percent. Punjab reported 67, the highest number of deaths, followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa which reported 29 deaths during the past 24 hours. Punjab reported 1,486 cases and 67 deaths, Sindh 782 cases and 11 deaths, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 495 cases and 29 deaths, Islamabad 182 cases and 1 death, Balochistan 87 cases and 5 deaths, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 39 cases, and Gilgit-Baltistan reported 13 cases.

The Covid-19 tally in Punjab has risen to 320,851 and the death toll is 9,125. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s tally has risen to 124,979 and the death toll is 3,644. Balochistan’s total is 23,534 and total deaths are 253. Pakistan reported 4,387 coronavirus recoveries during the last 24 hours, according to the government’s portal for tracking the spread of the disease in the country. The total has risen to 766,492 and the recovery rate is 88.7 percent, according to the NCOC.

 

‘Vaccination for 40 plus’

 

Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar has said that all 40 plus who have registered will be able to walk into any vaccination centre of their choice and get vaccinated from today.

He said the vaccination centres are open and will remain closed only for two days on the Eid. In a series of tweets on Tuesday, the minister who also heads the NCOC said that the government was making concerted efforts to increase vaccine supply and expand vaccination capacity. He said 53 percent of total Covid deaths in Pakistan occurred in citizens aged above 60. “Only 7% of Pakistan’s population is above the age of 60 and 53% of all covid deaths have been in this age bracket. Conversely 77% of Pakistan population is below the age of 40 and only 9% of total Covid deaths in Pakistan have been in this age bracket,” he said and added “Mortality percentage which has been less than 1% for people under 40, rises to 1.8% for 41-50, 3.8% for 51-60, 7.2% for 61-70, 11.1% for 71-80 and over 15% for those above 80.”

He said, therefore, it is vital that vaccination is concentrated on the most vulnerable segments of population as he explained the government’s rationale behind carrying out vaccinations in phases. He said the risk of mortality due to Covid rises sharply with age. He was of the view that the government was opening vaccinations based on age in descending order due to finite availability of vaccines globally, as well as vaccination capacity in the country.

Few days back, the NCOC head had said that the total number of single-day Covid-19 vaccinations had exceeded 200,000. In a tweet, the federal minister further stated that the total number of people to have registered for the vaccine had also crossed five million.