Tag: coronavirus pandemic

  • Karachi wedding hall owners reject new COVID-19 SOPs

    Karachi wedding hall owners reject new COVID-19 SOPs

    Karachi’s wedding, banquet and lawn owners have rejected the new COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) rolled out by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) after a sharp surge in cases.

    The Karachi Marriage Hall, Lawn, Banquet Owners Association held a press conference at the press club on Saturday to denounce the government’s decision to ban indoor weddings.  

    The association said thousands of employees and other businesses linked with weddings will be affected due to more restrictions and bans. 

    The president of the association said that wedding hall owners and their thousands of employees had already faced severe financial problems when all the halls were closed between March 13 and September 15 during the lockdown period.

    The association members said that when halls reopened after September 15, they did not get business as most people prefer not to get married during Muharram and Safar, which took place after the halls were reopened. 

    The association said that there are around 800 wedding halls only in Karachi and that the living of 50,000 people and their families are linked to these halls. 

    “Around 70 to 80% of our employees work on daily wages,” he said, adding that the earning of such employees depended on daily wedding events.

    The association pointed out that there are roughly 13,000 wedding halls in the entire country, with which 650,000 labourers’ livelihoods are directly linked. Fifty percent of the city’s industries, the association highlighted, were directly and the rest of the 50% were indirectly linked to wedding halls. 

    “With the closure of the wedding halls due the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of labourers will be directly or indirectly affected,” said the association’s president. 

    The government had itself failed to limit the number of people attending its political gatherings and implement the SOPs, stated the association.

    “We want to bring this into your knowledge that wedding halls is the only industry which didn’t get any relief from the government since the lockdown of March 13,” said Raees. 

    He requested Prime Minister Imran Khan, the chief justice of Pakistan and army chief to look into the miseries of the wedding hall owners and their employees.

    “We demand SOPs be drafted for wedding ceremonies after taking us on board,” he said.

  • Younger adults more vulnerable to COVID-19

    The second wave of COVID-19 has arrived in Pakistan with full force taking the total number of infections to 352,296 .

    As per details, 108,822 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Punjab so far. In a related development, the Punjab government has compiled a study, which shows the people belonging to the 31-45 age group are more vulnerable to the infection, followed by the 16-30 age group, contradicting earlier reports that the younger generations are less vulnerable to the virus.

    One of the reasons given for younger generations to get infected more is due to their outdoor activities/movement. A senior official of the health department says most of the people of these age groups attend educational institutions, do jobs or run businesses and many of them interact with people at their workplaces or educational institutions without preventive measures.

    Being asymptomatic patients, they transmit virus to their elderly family members or multiply the positive cases by interacting with other people. The members of these two age groups need extraordinary care by wearing masks and reducing their outdoor activities, stated the official.

    As per reports, statistics show that out of the total confirmed cases in Punjab, 32,060 people of 31-45 age group and 29,849 of other age groups have tested positive for the virus so far.

    The data further shows the health professionals attending COVID-19 patients in health facilities are also most vulnerable to the coronavirus due to their exposure to it.

  • COVID-19: NCOC recommends closure of shrines, indoor restaurants

    COVID-19: NCOC recommends closure of shrines, indoor restaurants

    The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has issued new restrictions to control the rapidly increasing second wave of COVID-19 across the country.

    As per details, the NCOC has recommended limiting all public gatherings to 500 people, including cultural, political, religious, entertainment, and civil gatherings.

    The body has proposed early and extending winter vacations to federal and provincial education departments, keeping in view the rising positivity rate in educational institutions.

    Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood will be presiding a special meeting with his provincial counterparts at the NCOC on November 16 to evaluate the positivity prevailing in educational institutions.

    The forum has allowed only outdoor dining at the restaurants till 10 pm while cinemas and theatres will be closed instantly. Shrines will also be temporarily closed with immediate effect. Only outdoor weddings with maximum  500 people be will allowed from November 20.

    The NCOC also wants early closing of markets.

    “After consultative discussions, the recommendations would be shared with the provinces for consequent decision and enforcement,” said the NCOC in a statement. “The body has recommended urgent and emergency measures to the NCC for final approval after consensus by all stakeholders.”

    The country has reported 348,184 coronavirus cases so far.

  • Usman Mukhtar recovers from COVID-19

    Usman Mukhtar recovers from COVID-19

    Usman Mukhtar has recovered from COVID-19, ten days after testing positive for the virus.

    Read more – Pakistani celebrities who recently tested positive for COVID-19

    In a social media update, the actor said: “By the grace of God and your best wishes my COVID test came out negative.”

    “I am overwhelmed by your support; the journey itself has been overwhelming,” he added.

    Usman also urged fans to be safe.

    “Please stay safe and stay healthy. It’s important for us to consider this is not just for ourselves but also for people around us.”

    Mukhtar had tested positive for COVID-19 on October 29. Earlier, on October 5, the actor had shared that he was “feeling much better and getting stronger everyday”.

  • Ameer Gilani becomes the latest celebrity to test positive for COVID-19

    Ameer Gilani becomes the latest celebrity to test positive for COVID-19

    Sabaat’s Ameer Gillani has tested positive for coronavirus, days after his co-star Usman Mukhtar announced that he had also contracted the disease. The actor revealed his test results in a question-answer session on his Instagram stories.

    A number of actors and models have recently shared that they are in quarantine because they have tested positive for coronavirus.

    Detailing his experience, Gilani said, “I was unable to connect with my fans and answer your questions. But now I am able to answer your questions because I am isolating in my room and you all know that why you isolate yourself.”

    “That’s because I’m COVID positive and there is no sense of taste and smell. I request you all to remember me and my family in your prayers as your prayers are very powerful.”

    He further said: “If you look at the bright side, we can interact and communicate because of this. So remember me in your prayers.”

    The actor also shared pictures of his grandfather’s phone call interview on a news channel where he confirmed that his son and grandson have tested positive for coronavirus.

    While requesting for prayers, Ameer’s grandfather senior lawyer Iftikhar Gilani got emotional.

  • COVID-19: Shopping malls, restaurants, shops & marriage halls to close by 10 pm

    COVID-19: Shopping malls, restaurants, shops & marriage halls to close by 10 pm

    The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has announced new coronavirus restrictions for cities and districts where COVID-19 cases have increased.

    According to a notification issued by the NCOC, all shopping malls, restaurants, shops and marriage halls are to shut by 10 pm from Thursday. The authority also directed public parks and recreational spots to be closed by 6 pm from Thursday.

    The cities where there restrictions have been imposed include Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Hyderabad, Gilgit, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Peshawar and Quetta.

    Meanwhile, the NCOC has also made it mandatory to wear face masks in confined spaces (indoors, public transport, outdoor crowded settings like markets and bus stands, railway stations, etc) and ordered the provincial governments to take strict actions against violators. The government has also said that those violating the order will be fined Rs6,000 to Rs35,000 and punishment of six-month imprisonment.

    NCOC Chairman Asad Umar also appealed to the people to take the virus seriously and follows the SOPs.

    It has emerged that a rise in coronavirus cases was recorded up to 80 percent in eleven major cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, Hyderabad, Gilgit and Muzaffarabad.

    Pakistan has reported 331,108 coronavirus cases so far with with 3.08% positivity rate.

  • Early COVID-19 Vaccine ‘likely to be imperfect’: UK Task Force

    Early COVID-19 Vaccine ‘likely to be imperfect’: UK Task Force

    UK Vaccines Taskforce Chair Kate Bingham said on Tuesday that the first generation of COVID-19 vaccines “is likely to be imperfect” and that they “might not work for everyone”.

    “However, we do not know that we will ever have a vaccine at all. It is important to guard against complacency and over-optimism,” Bingham wrote in a piece published in The Lancet medical journal.

    “The first generation of vaccines is likely to be imperfect, and we should be prepared that they might not prevent infection but rather reduce symptoms, and, even then, might not work for everyone or for long,” she added.

    Bingham wrote that the Vaccine Taskforce recognises that “many, and possibly all, of these vaccines could fail”, adding the focus has been on vaccines that are expected to elicit immune responses in the population older than 65 years.

    She said that the global manufacturing capacity for vaccines is vastly insufficient for the billions of doses that are needed and that the United Kingdom’s manufacturing capability to date has been “equally scarce”.

    Earlier on Tuesday, a study by scientists at Imperial College London found that antibodies against the novel coronavirus declined rapidly in the British population during the summer, suggesting protection after infection may not be long-lasting and raising the prospect of waning immunity in the community.

    The Telegraph newspaper reported that the British government is working on the assumption that the second wave of coronavirus will be more deadly than the first.