The National Command and Operations Centre Monday formulated the Standard Operating Procedures regarding the cattle markets and smart lockdown in several places of the country ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.

The meeting was presided over by NCOC chairman Asad Umar while Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, provincial Health Minister Yasmin Rashid, and Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat attended the session, along with other provincial representatives.

The forum was apprised that nearly 700 cattle markets are established across Pakistan on the eve of Eid Ul Azha and necessary health guidelines have been issued to all concerned.

Asad Umar said the management of cattle markets is very important to contain disease spread particularly move of people from rural areas to cities and going back after the sale of animals.

Addressing the session via videolink, Umar said the management of cattle markets is quite important in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus as people move back and forth during this time.

The minister said the cattle markets will be set up outside the cities and a layout of these will be shared with everyone so health protocols and guidelines can be followed. The NCOC chairman said that the local administrations should ensure that the cattle markets should operate from 6am to 7pm.

Among other guidelines, it was decided that the screening of those entering the markets is mandatory.

People will be asked to ensure they are wearing face masks and practicing social distancing. The officials will be asked to ensure that only a designated number of people will be allowed inside at one time to avoid over-crowding.

The NCOC also decided to hold the Eidul Azha prayers as per the Eid ul Fitr SOPs.

The forum was briefed that Under TTQ strategy, over 750,000 contacts traced who came in contact with COVID infected people. Out of those contacts, those tested positive were put in quarantine/home isolation the across country potentially saving about 300,000 individuals from getting infected.

“Contact tracing is being accelerated through a combination of RRTs (Rapid Response Teams) and call centres. Local communities are key part in the fight against COVID-19 wherein Rural Support Network organizations, local organizations, notables participating in different fields to assist local administration.”

The NCOC identified the top 30 cities as COVID hotspots with max Infected using auto trace and NITB maps. At an average 3-8 Million population with 10-30 % of infected people remained under 300-500 smart lockdowns (SLDs) on a rolling basis since the adoption of this policy in the entire country. Currently, 321 smart lockdowns are enforced across Pakistan at the moment.