By Adnan Rafique
ISLAMABAD: National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced on Sunday that COVID-19 vaccine certificate is now a must thing for all tourists going to Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The apex body to formulate policies for combatting the virus will also set up teams to check the vaccination certificates from the tourists and also form teams to ensure wearing facemasks, observing social distancing and following safety measures in northern areas. Now all tourists who want to book hotels in the hilly areas for tourism purposes would have to get vaccinated themselves first.
The body also made mandatory vaccination for all staffers and people and attending any gathering like cinemas, restaurants, gyms and wedding halls. It has been directed to ensure corona SOPs at bus stations, railways stations, intra-city and inter-city transport, mosques and markets. And for this, NCOC issued a check list.
In a tweet, NCOC head Asad Umar said, “Pakistan has 2 crore 72 lakh people who are 50 years or older.†Asad Umar said, “This age group is most vulnerable to serious health effects of Covid. So far 56 lakh or 20.6% of these have gotten at least 1 dose of vaccine. Please encourage all in this age group to get vaccinated as soon as possible,â€
The NCOC also directed the concerned departments to implement SOPs and take stern action against violators.
