Tag: COVID-19 pandemic

  • Government announces reopening of cinemas in eight cities of Pakistan

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has announced that cinema halls and multiplexes will reopen in eight cities of Pakistan from October 1st.

    The decision was taken in the meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special initiatives Asad Umar. It was decided in the meeting that that Covid related restrictions will be eased in the cities that have achieved the targeted vaccination rate. The cities who have targeted vaccination rate includeds, Gilgit, Skardu, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Quetta, and Peshawar.

    “We are relaxing restrictions in these eight cities from October 1,” Asad Umar said in a press conference. “The rest of the cities and districts will have to implement on the same restrictions that are currently in place, till October 15,” he added.

  • Wedding cards should mention only ‘Covid vaccinated guests’ allowed, Punjab issues notification

    The Punjab government has said that wedding invitation cards should mention that only “vaccinated guests” will be allowed to participate in a wedding. A notification by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department on Tuesday says that unvaccinated people will not be permitted to enter wedding halls across the province.

    The notification also says that all the staff of the wedding halls would have to display “fully vaccinated” badges while discharging their duties.

    The provincial government has also made vaccination a requirement for those seeking various services in the private and governmental sectors. As per the notification, international travelers arriving in Pakistan would have to be fully vaccinated by October 31.

    In the last 24 hours, Pakistan has recorded 1,560 new cases of Covid-19.

  • Nawaz Sharif in London receives first dose of Sinovac in Lahore

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in London for medical treatment, has received first dose of Sinovac vaccine in Lahore as per the data uploaded on National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) portal. As per reports, this false information was entered using Nawaz Sharif’s CNIC at Government Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital.

    As As per the official information available on NADRA portal, Nawaz Sharif was administered the first dose of Sinovac on Wednesday, September 22 and he is due to receive the second dose next month.  

    The Punjab health department has taken the notice of this fake entry.

    Nawaz has been living in London since November 2019 after he was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment.

  • Police arrest pair trying to enter Auckland with ‘large amount’ of KFC

    Police arrest pair trying to enter Auckland with ‘large amount’ of KFC

    New Zealand police have arrested two men with a car full of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and over $100,000 in cash as they tried to cross the border into locked down Auckland amid the pandemic.

    As per reports, the men were detained after allegedly trying to flee from police near the Auckland border. When their car was searched, police said they found a large quantity of KFC, as well as the cash and a number of empty ounce bags.

    Auckland is in strict lockdown and restaurants are not allowed to open and citizens are not allowed to order takeaway food.

    Read More: KFC suspends its ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ slogan due to Covid-19

    After the KFC arrest, a police spokesperson said “officers noticed a suspicious-looking vehicle travelling on a gravel road, and upon seeing the police car, the vehicle did a U-turn and sped off trying to evade police.

    “The vehicle was searched and police located the cash, alongside empty ounce bags and a large number of takeaways.”

    Close examination of the police evidence photos revealed at least three buckets of chicken, up to 10 tubs of coleslaw, and an a large quantity of fries.

  • All students will be declared ‘pass’ in board exams, confirms Shafqat Mahmood

    A decision has been made to pass all the students in board exams. The decision was made during the meeting of Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) which was chaired by federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood, Dawn has reported.

    Speaking to Dawn, Shafqat Mahmood confirmed the decision and said 33 per cent marks would be awarded in each subject, which a student was unable to clear.

    “Education ministers of the country, including Sindh, participated in the meeting (physically and online) and took decisions,” the education minister added.

    Shafqat Mahmood further requested students to fully focus on their studies, adding, “There would be no reduced syllabus this academic session.”

    According to Dawn, the IPMEC has decided that the academic session would start in the country from August every year while board exams would be conducted in May-June instead of March-April.

    Federal Minister for Development Planning and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has said that the government is reopening schools in five districts of Punjab and one district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from September 16.

  • Despite partial lockdown in Punjab, over 4,000 COVID cases reported in 24 hours

    Despite partial lockdown in Punjab, over 4,000 COVID cases reported in 24 hours

    Pakistan reported 4,062 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours in country for the first time in seven days.

    According to National Command Operation Center (NCOC), a total of 63,161 COVID-19 tests were taken on Thursday, out of which 84 people lost their lives to the deadly virus, pushing the toll to 26,497. 

    All Punjab educational institutions were closed last week due to the high spike in cases. Punjab government has also imposed lockdown in various areas of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad.

    Currently, the country is fighting against the fourth wave of the global pandemic and the average daily case count has been fluctuating between 3,000-4,000 range for almost a week.

    The positivity rate now remains at 6.43%. Moreover, Pakistan is reporting 3,778 new infections on average each day.

    Last week, the country averaged about 1,192,780 administered vaccine doses each day.

  • Covid-19: Confused sense of smell lasts much longer than virus

    Covid-19: Confused sense of smell lasts much longer than virus

    A new study has found that many people who lose their sense of smell due to coronavirus ultimately regain it, but some survivors have faced smell distortions and unexplained smells, Reuters has reported.

    Researchers examined survey responses from 1,468 individuals who had been infected with Covid-19 between April and September 2020 and had suffered loss of smell and taste at the start of their illness. Early on, about 10 percent also reported smell distortions also known as parosmia, and unexplained smells, known as phantosmia.

    Read More: NCOC launches app to verify Covid-19 certificates

    At an average of six to seven months after the infection and first reporting loss of smell, roughly 60% of women and 48% of men had regained less than 80% of their pre-illness smell ability, and rates of smell distortions and imaginary smells had increased, the researchers reported on Tuesday on medRxiv.

    Roughly 47% reported parosmia, saying, for example, “some things now smell like chemicals.” About 25% reported phantosmia.

    “Sometimes I can smell burning but no one else around me can,” one respondent reported. Persistent smell problems were seen more often in survivors with more symptoms overall, “suggesting it may be a key marker of long-COVID,” the authors said.

  • ‘Hospital inflow & critical care patients at highest level’, says Asad Umar

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar has said that critical patients admitted in hospitals due to covid-19 are at “highest level.”

    “As seen globally, impact of indian delta variant in Pakistan also shows that it spreads faster & increases chances of patients to need hospitalization,” wrote the minister in a tweet.

    “Right now both hospital inflow & critical care patients at highest level since start of covid,” he added.

    Asad also requested people to, “please follow sop’s & vaccinate.”

    Read more- No public transport after Oct 15 unless fully vaccinated: Asad Umar

    As per the National National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Pakistan recorded 4,103 cases of Covid-19 on September 2 in the country.

  • UAE to resume tourist visas

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that it will resume issuing tourist visas to vaccinated travelers from August 30 (today). UAE authorities have said that applications for tourist visas will be open to people from all countries, provided that they are fully vaccinated with one of the WHO-approved Covid-19 vaccines.

    The WHO-approved vaccines include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm and Sinovac.

    “The decision applies to citizens of all countries, including those arriving from the previously banned countries. Arriving passengers on tourist visa must take mandatory rapid PCR test at the airport. The previous rules for unvaccinated, including exempted categories, remain in place,” Emirates News Agency has reported.

    On August 5, the UAE lifted a ban on transit passenger traffic from Pakistan, India, Nigeria and other countries.

  • Govt announces fee for Covid vaccine booster shot

    The federal government on Saturday announced to administer booster Covid vaccine shots for people travelling abroad. The government has decided on a fee of Rs 1,270 for the booster shot that will be submitted at the National Bank of Pakistan, ARY News reported.

    As per reports, the federal government has sent a handout to the provincial governments, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) governments for taking measures in this regard.

    The handout stated that the Covid vaccine shots to those planning to travel abroad would be administered at designated centres in the provinces and federal regions.

    Citizens could get the vaccine shots after showing their valid visa and bank voucher.

    Earlier, it was reported that separate counters would be set up at the vaccination centres, where travellers can receive booster shots of approved Covid vaccines for their destinations.

    The sources further said that those wanting to get the shots had to show the travel documents including a visa and they would be given a certificate for the booster shot to be submitted to the authorities during their foreign trip.