Asad Umar instructs provinces to increase vaccination efforts amid increasing COVID-19 cases

Islamabad: The National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) on Wednesday expressed concern about the country’s increasing number of coronavirus cases and asked provinces to increase vaccination efforts.

Federal Minister of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar presided over the meeting, and all provincial chief secretaries attended the meeting via video links.

The forum expressed concern about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and serious violations of the government’s standard operating procedures (SOP) for coronavirus.

After understanding the situation, the minister instructed the provinces to ensure strict implementation of standard operating procedures, especially during the Eid al-Fitr.

At the same time, Omar told attendees that due to the worrying coronavirus situation in Afghanistan, the western border of the country has been closed since June 17. He added that the government is arranging the repatriation of Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan.

NCOC also stated that individuals who have been vaccinated will need to be isolated for 10 days if they test positive for COVID-19.