Coronavirus cases rise by 30% in a week after government eases restrictions

The number of coronavirus cases has increased following the Nat­ional Command and Ope­ration Centre's (NCOC) decision last month to ease coronavirus restrictions.

Last month, the NCOC eased most of the restrictions, allowing commercial activities, sch­ools, offices and other workplaces to function fully. The condition of 50 percent attendance at workplaces was removed, while schools were asked to function five days a week with full strength.

However, the decision to allow ind­oor dining will be taken on March 10. Since the relaxation of these restrictions, the country has seen a continuous increase in COVID-19 cases. According to the NCOC data, there were 1,176 cases on February 27 and 1,163 on March 1. However, the number suddenly jumped to 1,388 on March 2 and reached 1,579 on Friday.

An official of the Ministry of National Health Services told DAWN that the decision to relax restrictions was taken in a hurry as focus was on economic activities rather than on the health of the masses.

"The incubation period of the virus is around seven days, so cases started increasing one week after lifting the restrictions and we fear that cases may further increase in coming days if the masses don’t strictly adhere to the SOPs," the official said.

Similarly, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), a representative body of health professionals, has also urged the government to impose restrictions, alleging that players of the Pakistan Sup­er League contracted the virus due to negligence.