Jab certificate must for tourists’ hotel bookings
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Sunday made vaccination certificate mandatory for hotel bookings in tourists spots in Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas of Pakistan as part of its measures to strictly implement coronavirus-related safety protocols in all highrisk sectors.
The NCOC also took serious note of prevalence of different strains of coronavirus in the country, violation of precautionary measures like wearing of face masks and observing social distancing, and the risk of pandemic spread during the upcoming festival of Eid Al Adha.
The forum said that vaccination was mandatory for hotel bookings for tourists visiting Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It also issued an elaborate procedure for verification of vaccine certificate at the entrance points of tourist sites and hotels.
The NCOC issued detailed instructions to all provinces for strict implementation of preventive measures and form teams to ensure compliance with safety protocols like wearing of face masks and social distancing. The forum also issued directives for implementation of safety protocols in cattle markets.
Positivity rate crosses 4%
The country, meanwhile, recorded the coronavirus positivity ratio at 4.09 per cent in the last 24 hours, the highest ratio since May 30, which was at 4.05 per cent, according to the National Command and Operations Centre’s (NCOC) data.
The NCOC, sharing the daily statistics on Sunday, said that 1,980 coronavirus cases were detected from 48,382 tests conducted across the country in the last 24 hours.
Twenty-seven deaths occurred in the last 24 hours, with the most recorded in Sindh followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Call for vaccination
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Sunday urged people aged 50 years or above to get vaccinated against coronavirus to make themselves protected against the deadly virus.
In a tweet, the minister said that Pakistan had 27.2 million people who were 50 years or older.
“This age group is the most vulnerable to serious health effect of Covid,” he added.
Umar, who is also head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), said so far 5.6 million or 20.6 per cent of these had gotten at least one dose of vaccine.
“Please encourage all in this age group to vaccinate as soon as possible,” the minister added. —