Lock down soft, small shops, transport, open domestic flights, NCOC

The National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) meeting approved proposals to open shopping malls across the country from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 8 to 12 p.m.

Following the approval of the proposals, shopping malls across the country are expected to open on May 11.

A meeting of the National Command and Control Center, chaired by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Omar, discussed easing the lockdown and future strategies, especially ending May 9 or extending the lockdown.

The Chief Ministers of the four provinces participated in the meeting through video link.

After mutual consultation, the NCOC made recommendations to ease the lockdown across the country from May 11, open small shops, public transport and domestic flights.

Schools, wedding halls, hotels and large shopping malls should be closed
The NCOC has also suggested that schools, wedding halls, hotels and major shopping malls be closed and railway service not be restored for the time being.

Recommendations were made at the meeting that transport should be opened at the local level, base owners and transporters would ensure implementation of SOPS to prevent corona.

In addition, large shopping malls should be closed, small shops and shops for buying and selling Eid should be opened. In addition, schools, wedding halls, hotels, restaurants should be closed now.

These are the recommendations made at a meeting of the National Command and Operations Center chaired by Federal Minister Asad Omar.

The meeting also recommended opening of domestic flights, which was also confirmed by Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

No agreement was reached to restore train service
The meeting of the National Command and Operations Center could not reach a consensus on restoring train service. Three of the four provinces, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, opposed the resumption of rail service.

The meeting also recommended that general stores be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 12 p.m.
Recommendations have also been made to open pipe mills, electrical cables, steel, aluminum and pottery industries.

 The National Command and Operations Center has also recommended the opening of sanitary, paint and hardware stores.

The National Command and Operations Center has recommended that a complete lockdown be carried out on Sunday and that no rallies be allowed.

The recommendations are valid till May 31 and their final approval is likely to be given at a meeting of the National Coordinating Committee chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday.

In addition, it was proposed to increase the facilities of the construction industry and to activate specific OPDs in the hospitals of Islamabad.

The Islamabad administration was directed to involve volunteers in the rural support program in the welfare activities related to the corona virus and to make it possible to reach out to all the union councils with the help of the Prime Minister's Task Force.