Pakistan announces it is lifting all COVID-19 related restrictions

Pakistan Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, in a press conference, said: "We have decided that all restrictions we have imposed related to the coronavirus on weddings, indoor dining and markets, we are ending all of them."

He, however, said that all restrictions on those not vaccinated against the coronavirus would remain.

"We need a transition process towards a normal, ordinary life because it seems at the moment that the pandemic will continue and become a part of our lives," he said, adding that the government would keep monitoring the disease prevalence on a daily basis.

Noting that 87 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine while 70 pc eligible population have been fully vaccinated, Umar said, restrictions on unvaccinated people were likely to remain until 80-85pc of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.

Addressing the press conference alongside Umar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that there was no "clear sign" that the disease prevalence would rise again.

"We will keep monitoring the situation continuously and see where cases are [increasing] globally and in Pakistan and if a change in strategy is needed," Dawn quoted him saying.

During the past 24 hours, Pakistan reported 493 new coronavirus infections, taking the number of confirmed cases to 1,520,120 while another four people died during this period, pushing the death toll to 30,317.

(With UNI inputs)