Pakistan announces new restrictions for the unvaccinated

A worker prepares to fill the petrol tank of a motorbike next to a banner warning customers about the guidelines that from September onwards only Covid-19 coronavirus vaccinated customers will be allowed to purchase the fuel in Punjab province, in Lahore on August 27, 2021. (AFP)

• Won't be allowed to enter shopping malls, use public transport or travel by air after Sept. 30
• Planning minister asks people to keep social distancing even as Pakistan reports steady decline in infections

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s planning minister has warned that people who are not vaccinated will not be allowed to work from offices after this month. 
In a televised message Tuesday, Asad Umar said unvaccinated people will also not be eligible to enter shopping malls, use public transport or to travel by air after the Sept. 30 deadline.

Umar also asked people to keep social distancing in comments that came hours after Pakistan reported a steady decline in cases of coronavirus.

Umar said about 52 percent of the adult population in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, had been vaccinated and other cities should also try to vaccinate at least 40 percent of their eligible population as soon as possible to avoid lockdowns and COVID-19 related restrictions.

Pakistan has reported 1.2 million COVID-19 cases and nearly 27,000 deaths since the pandemic began last year.