ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Wednesday approved the use of antigen testing for COVID-19 in addition to the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests being carried out in the Country.
In a statement, the Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives and the Chairman NCOC Asad Umar said that this is the part of a strategy to increase the level of testing.
Asad Umar said that the symptomatic cases will all still be administered PCR tests.
The minister further said that the decision is in line with the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the meeting, the forum decided that weaning of face mask is mandatory both in government and private offices.
The meeting was briefed that the positivity ratio of Coronavirus Cases has increased in 11 major Cities of the Country.
It was apprised that at present, 4,374 smart lockdowns have been imposed across the Country.
The NCOC directed the provinces to ensure compliance of wearing of face masks and other standard operating procedures (SOPs) against Covid-19 particularly in bazaars, shopping malls, public transport, and restaurants.
Meanwhile, the total number of infected persons in the Country has reached 330,200 after 825 more people tested positive on October 27.
As per the NCOC, in the last 24 hours, 14 COVID-19 patients passed away and now the death toll stands at 6,759.
The NCOC data says that 29,477 tests were conducted across the Country on October 27.
It says that 11,056 in Punjab, 8,860 in Sindh, 3,955 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,023 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 838 in Balochistan, 564 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and 181 in Balochistan.
