The National Assembly secretariat will be closed for four days from March 13 to March 16 for the disinfection of the Parliament House building in Islamabad, a notification issued by the government on Sunday read.
“The heads of respective departments shall call minimum essential staff from March 17 until further orders.”
The order stated that the employees working from home should remain vigilant as they may be called on a one-hour basis in case of an emergency. “Employees who have tested positive for the virus will have to send their reports to the Establishment Branch,” it added.
Here are some essential SOPs that have to be followed by the staff:
- Wear face masks at all times
- Don’t shake hands
- maintaining social distance
Under the new orders, the office timings will be 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre, 32 people lost their lives to the deadly virus in the last 24 hours while over 2,500 new cases were reporting countrywide.
Special Assitant to the Prime Minister on Health Faisal Sultan said that Pakistan is now facing the third wave of the novel coronavirus. The country crossed the 600,000-case mark on March 11.
Dr Sultan has urged people to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Inoculation for people over 60 started on March 10 and they will also receive the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine being given to health workers.
People over 60 years and all health workers can register for the vaccine by sending their CNIC numbers to 1166 or on https://nims.nadra.gov.pk/nims/.
Lockdowns and restrictions reimposed
On Friday, the Punjab government imposed a smart lockdown in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sargodha and Rawalpindi.
The government also suspended all sports activities in the province because of a rise in coronavirus cases. All outdoor and indoor games including hockey, football, snooker, gymnasium, volleyball and kabaddi have been postponed.
Peshawar has imposed a smart lockdown in areas. The lockdown was imposed Saturday 6pm and “shall remain in force till further orders”, said a notification.
In Islamabad, the district administration made it compulsory for residents to wear face masks at all times in public spaces.
Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Hamza Shafqat has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the capital for two months.
Here are other orders the district administration announced in its notification:
- 50% work from home with immediate effect
- commercial activities to close by 10pm
- amusement parks to close by 6pm
- outdoor gathering restricted to 300 people
The orders will remain in force until April 15.
In Sindh, Saeed Ghani the provincial education minister has warned that the government may have to opt for another lockdown if COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
Schools closed for two weeks
On March 10, the federal government announced that schools across Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar and Islamabad will remain closed from March 15 to March 28.
The decision has been taken because of the rising coronavirus cases in these cities, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood announced while addressing briefing the media about the decisions taken by the National Command and Operation Centre.
Mahmood clarified that the decision will be applicable to all educational institutions, whether its schools, universities or colleges. These restrictions will, however, not be applicable to exams. A-Level, matric and intermediate examinations will be held as per schedule.
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