NCOC Bans Hugs and Handshakes After Eid Prayers

With Eid-ul-Azha just around the corner, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has issued new guidelines in a bid to contain the resurging Coronavirus on the occasion of Eid.

The new Coronavirus SOPs were finalized in the NCOC meeting that was held earlier today. The meeting assessed the overall COVID-19 situation in the country and expressed serious concerns over it.

Here are all the decisions taken during the NCOC meeting earlier today:

• Eid prayers to be held in open areas along with complete adherence to 6-feet social distancing and facemask wearing.
• Eid prayer at a single venue should be organized in multiple shifts at alternate timings to ensure minimum attendance.
• Eid sermon to be kept brief to minimize exposure to viral infection.
• Multiple entry and exit points to be made to avoid overcrowding. Hand sanitizers to be made available at the entry and exit points.
• Elderly adults, children aged less than 15 years, immunocompromised people, and other vulnerable adults should stay at home.
• People to bring their prayer mat, perform ablution at home, and avoid hugging and handshaking after Eid prayer.

Besides the SOPs for congregational Eid prayers, the NCOC has also advised the public to avoid overcrowding public places as well as to follow Coronavirus SOPs while distributing meat.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s national Coronavirus positivity ratio dropped to 3.45% earlier today after the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed 653 new cases of COV-19.

On Monday, the national positivity rate stood at 4.61% as the NIH had confirmed 675 new cases and 2 deaths due to Coronavirus.