Authorities Advised People to Follow COVID Preventive Measures in Muharram
by Iqra Zafar
SHARES
Health authorities have instructed people to stick to COVID preventive measures during Muharram gatherings due to continuously growing corona cases in the country.
In Pakistan, Sunday marked the beginning of the new Islamic year with the moon sighted on Sunday. With the arrival of Muharram-ul-Haram, Majalis or religious gatherings are being observed in the memory of Shuhada-e-Karbala around the country. Authorities suspect that these gatherings can once again be the reason behind the spread of COVID cases, especially when an increase in corona cases is being observed throughout the country.
According to the latest numbers issued by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Pakistan has reported 392 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours against 13922 tests conducted. As per these numbers, the COVID positivity ratio was recorded at 2.84%. Alongside these cases, there were 2 deaths reported from the virus. This makes the total number of COVID-infected patients go 1555639 across the country with approximately 30489 deaths from this deadly virus.
Important Message regarding Muharram ul Haram!
Adherence to SOPs is the only way to protect yourself against COVID-19! Wear Mask, adhere to Social Distancing and Get yourself Vaccinated! pic.twitter.com/wJAuCrJlqK
— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) July 31, 2022
Health officials believe that public gatherings in Muharram will serve as a potential ground for the spread of the COVID virus. Thus, to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, health officials have asked people to stick to the COVID-19 preventive measures.
Here are the guidelines issued for public gatherings.
- Wear a mask at public gatherings
- Wash your hands frequently
- Maintain social distancing
- Get your vaccination done
Alongside this, there are instructions regarding the cleanliness and management of places where majalis are to be carried out. These include:
- Ensure proper ventilation of the places
- Ensure that people are following COVID-19 SOPs
- Checking for the vaccination status
- Proper sanitization at the entrance and exit points of majalis
- Sanitization and cleaning of the places before and after the gathering
- Serving foods and drinks in open and well-ventilated places
- Use of disposable containers to serve food
- Avoiding physical contact such as handshakes and embracing.
With these practices, Health officials believe that we will be able to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus by adhering to these measures.
