The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday revised guidelines for non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) in view of improved Covid-19 infection rates and decided to ease restrictions in cities with less than 10 per cent positivity.

The NCOC, in consultation with all federating units, has devised a differentiated approach based on the following positivity criteria: cities or districts with up to 10 per cent positivity and cities or districts with positivity greater than 10 per cent.

NPIs for cities/districts with positivity above 10%

Cities with a positivity rate of more than 10 per cent, as identified by the NCOC, are Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Mardan, Karachi, Hyderabad, and Peshawar.

In these cities, restrictions will continue to be enforced. Ban on all indoor gatherings and weddings will continue while outdoor events are allowed with a maximum limit of 300 vaccinated individuals. The complete ban on indoor dining will continue. Gyms are allowed to function at 50 per cent capacity for fully vaccinated individuals and the same applies to cinemas, shrines, and amusement parks. A complete ban has been issued by the NCOC on contact sports such as karate, boxing, martial arts, rugby, water polo, kabaddi, and wrestling.

Read: Covid curbs may be eased in cities with low positivity

Schools and other educational institutions in these cities have been advised to continue with staggered attendance for children under 12, while classes with fully vaccinated children above 12 are allowed at full capacity.

The country’s nerve centre for Covid-19 response stated that the NPIs will be reviewed on February 21.

NPIs for cities/districts with positivity up to 10 %

In cities and districts with a positivity rate below or up to 10 per cent, the NPIs will be eased.

Indoor gatherings and weddings for fully vaccinated individuals are allowed with a maximum limit of 300 individuals while outdoor events for fully vaccinated individuals are allowed with maximum limit of 500 people. Indoor and outdoor dining are also allowed for fully vaccinated individuals while gyms, cinemas, shrines, amusement parks, and sports are authorised to function at full capacity.

Educational institutes for children above and below 12 years of age are authorised to remain open with stringent Covid protocols.

General NPIs

The NCOC has stated that for all areas in the country, vaccination for students above 12 years is mandatory (at least one dose) with no exception and aggressive sentinel testing in educational institutes will be carried out for targeted closures in high disease prevalence education institutes.

Furthermore, all federating units in consultation with health authorities will set a number or percentage, of Covid cases, for closure of education institutes.

Read: Pandemic woes: Health experts ring Omicron warning

According to the statement, market and business activities are to continue without any time restrictions.

Public transport will function at 70 per cent capacity for the fully vaccinated with masks mandatory. However, the ban on serving meals and snacks on flights will continue. Railways have also been directed to function at 80 per cent for fully vaccinated individuals.

Offices are directed to maintain normal working hours with 100 per cent attendance with fully vaccinated employees, however, work from home is encouraged.

The NCOC added that it will continue to implement a compulsory mask mandate while incorporating innovative measures for enforcement. Strict adherence to SOPs in mosques and other places of worship will be ensured by all federating units, it further stated. 

“Targeted lockdowns with stringent enforcement protocols based on risk assessment will continue.”