THE National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday relaxed a number of restrictions on commercial activities and official work in view of latest data on the spread and prevalence of the Covid-19 in the country.
After taking a comprehensive review of the existing non-pharmaceutical interventions, it decided to lift the time-limit on commercial activities and removed the condition of 50% attendance at workplaces with immediate effect.
There has been a fall in the cases of Coronavirus during the last six weeks but the situation in Pakistan is not as satisfactory as it is being portrayed through removal of almost all the existing Corona-related restrictions.
The country saw another 1,196 people getting infected and 50 dying of Covid-19 in a single day this week, which calls for continued vigilance and strict implementation of SOPs.
Already, only a small fraction of the population cares about safety precautions and removal of restrictions in haste would send a wrong message to the people about the possibility of the spread of the virus.
The NCOC has also decided to give permission to hold indoor wedding ceremonies and opening of cinemas and shrines with effect from March 15 but the decision to allow indoor dining is contingent upon the outcome of the review meeting to be held on March 10.
Similarly, the Election Commission has been allowed to hold local elections by the end of May or June and the number of spectators attending Pakistan Super League pool matches has been increased from the existing 20 to 50%.
The decisions reflect the mood of the people and especially the business community but there are twin challenges of carelessness towards SOPs and resistance against the Covid-19 inoculation drive due to large-scale disinformation and questions about efficacy of vaccines.
In the absence of an aggressive strategy, these can lead to reversal of gains, if any, made in checking the spread of the virus.
