NCOC finalizes recommendations for procurement of Covid-19 vaccine

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has finalized its recommendations for the procurement of the Coronavirus vaccine.

This was announced by Federal Planning Minister and NCOC chief Asad Umar in a Twitter statement on Monday.

The minister stated that the recommendations will be presented to the cabinet on Tuesday for approval.  “The taskforce of experts headed by SAPM health Dr. Faisal Sultan had developed the recommendations which were discussed and finalized today,” said Umar.

NCOC today finalized its recommendations for procurement of covid vaccine. These will be presented to the cabinet tomorrow for approval. The taskforce of experts headed by SAPM health Dr. Faisal Sultan had developed the recommendations which were discussed and finalized today

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) November 30, 2020

The NCOC was informed that the national positivity ratio has increased to 8.53% with Mirpur having the highest positivity ratio.

“Highest positivity ratio observed in Mirpur 27.75% followed by Muzaffarabad 23.44% and Hyderabad 18.21%,” said the NCOC statement.

The body also shared that 2,046 coronavirus patients are in critical condition across Pakistan and the number was rising fast.

On the other hand, the positivity ratio in various federating units showed that AJK had a positivity ratio of 21.3 %, Balochistan is at 11.95 %, GB is at 3.43%, Islamabad is at 6.62.30%, KP is at 5.57%, Punjab is at 4.84% and Sindh stands at 14.04%.

New York City to open schools

New York City’s public schools will begin to reopen for in-person learning on December 7, starting with elementary schools for students whose parents agree to a weekly testing regimen for the novel coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday.

The schools, which make up the country’s largest school system, were closed less than two weeks ago after the citywide rate of coronavirus tests coming back positive exceeded a 3% benchmark agreed to by the mayor and the teachers’ union.

“It’s a new approach because we have so much proof now of how safe schools can be,” de Blasio told reporters, saying the 3% benchmark was being scrapped and pointing to research that shows young children appear to be less vulnerable to COVID-19. On Sunday, the city’s seven-day rolling average of positive tests was 3.9%, de Blasio said.

Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, who joined the mayor at a news conference, said with the new measures he believed the city could “safely and successfully keep our schools open for the duration of this pandemic.”