NCOC plan advocates social distancing during holy month.

Byline: Baqir Sajjad Syed

ISLAMABAD -- With the holy month of Ramazan commencing later this week, the role of national communications strategy for Covid-19 pandemic has become pivotal for containing the disease.

There are fears that the crisis could deepen during Ramazan when worshippers hold large congregations and observe other communal rituals. Those concerns have grown after the government conditionally allowed congregations in the mosques across the country during the holy month. At the same time, infections are increasing in the country where the total number of cases surged past 8,000 on Sunday.

The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), which is the nerve centre of the national Covid-19 containment activities, has prepared a 48-day strategy, which has pre-Ramazan, Ramazan, and post-Ramazan components, all of which aim at educating and informing...