Departmental stores, parks, trails reopened in Islamabad; ICT shares SOPs

Islamabad: City authorities on Tuesday allowed a reopening of departmental stores, parks, and trails in the federal capital after providing a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure their safe operation, a news source reported. In this regard, the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) issued the SOPs to reopen parks and trails; while the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination did the same for departmental stores.

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The ICTA, however, has stated that the sports grounds in the city would remain closed. In a notification issued, the administration stated that the reopening of the parks and trails was subject to adherence to the SOPs provided — including social distancing rules for walking and exercising. It added that the Environment Directorate of the Metropolitan Corporation would be responsible for ensuring the implementation of these SOPs.

In addition, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamza Shafqaat strictly advised against any social gatherings in the parks and trails.

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On the other hand, the Ministry of National Health Services issued the following SOPs for departmental stores to reopen:

• Store officials to wash hands or clean them with 70% alcohol-based sanitizer
• Store managers to ensure that all visitors sanitise their hands when entering and leaving
• Use of thermal guns to determine temperatures of customers before they enter the shop
• Individuals with a flu and fever not to enter the shop
• All surfaces/objects, including shelves and doors, touched by customers  to be disinfected
• Individuals to maintain at least a six-feet distance between themselves inside the shop