COVID-19: Pakistan announces new guidelines for wedding events

Grappling with the second wave of coronavirus, Pakistan announced new guidelines for wedding events in the country as 1,650 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the national tally to 344,839 on Monday.

The death toll due to the deadly virus reached 6,977 after nine patients died of the disease, according to the Ministry of National Health Services.

The number of total cases in the country reached 344,839. At least 318,881 people have recovered, it said, adding that some 972 patients are in critical condition.

The number of active cases has reached 18,981, a marked increase as in September the number of such patients had dropped below 6,000.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the apex body to combat the pandemic, announced additional guidelines for marriage ceremonies to contain the spread of the virus.

The wedding guests would maintain six feet distance, while the timing of the events would be limited to two hours and the organisers would have to close down functions at 10 pm.

Wearing of face masks is mandatory for all guests and organisers of marriage events should display the seating capacity of their venues at the entrance. Thermal scanning would be mandatory. Buffet dinner/lunch has been banned and only lunch boxes and table service would be allowed. The event managers should retain the names and contact details of all guests and staff for at least 15 days.

The organisers would also have to take precautionary measures against dengue fever.

A spike in COVID-19 cases was also witnessed in the national capital Islamabad where the administration has imposed mini-lockdown in several areas.

The NCOC had earlier banned indoor marriage gatherings from November 20 and restricted the number of guests to 1,000.