ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday resumed its public transport services in all provinces and cities across the country after reporting a drop in new coronavirus cases.
In a statement on Saturday, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the federal body overseeing the country’s response to the pandemic, said public transport and railways would continue to operate at 50 percent and 70 percent capacity.
To curb a spike in infections, the government had imposed a nationwide lockdown from May 8 to 16, with a ban on tourism and intercity public transport during the Eid-Al-Fitr holidays this week.
However, in a special meeting on Saturday, the NCOC expressed satisfaction with the compliance of anti-virus measures and decided to ease a few restrictions, urging the public to continue following standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Later, the NCOC announced that all markets and shops could remain open until 8 p.m. from Monday, while offices could resume operations with 50 percent capacity.
On Sunday, Pakistan reported 2,379 COVID-19 cases and 76 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Statistics 16 May 21:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 30,402
Positive Cases: 2379
Positivity % : 7.82%
Deaths : 76— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) May 16, 2021
The South Asian nation of over 220 million has consistently reported more than 4,000 daily infections since the start of May. However, it registered a dip in new cases last week despite the country dealing with the third wave of the outbreak.
Since the pandemic in February last year, 19,543 people have lost their lives, while 877,130 have tested positive for the disease.
