LAHORE: While issuing a new Covid advisory, the Punjab government has declared vaccination mandatory for the people to avail different services in private and public sector and ordered deputy commissioners to ensure implementation of these guidelines in the districts.

According to a notification issued by Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Punjab here on Tuesday, unvaccinated people will not be allowed to enter the weddings halls across the province.

Circulated among all the deputy commissioners (DCs) in the province, it said all the staff of the wedding halls would have to display “fully vaccinated” badges while discharging their duties.

The DCs have been ordered to ensure that the entrance of the marriage halls are manned by the staff to stop unvaccinated persons from entering the premises by verifying their status through the central or online system provided by the Punjab government.

The notification said the invitation cards should also mention that only “Covid vaccinated guests” were allowed to participate in a wedding.

The DCs were directed to dispatch teams to check that these protocols were being implemented in the marriage halls in their respective jurisdictions.

Similarly, the it has been declared mandatory for the teachers, admin and transport staff of the education institutions to get fully vaccination by Sept 30.

Meanwhile, these guidelines would also apply to those visiting markets, hotels, restaurants (for indoor dining) and rest houses.

The notification said the employees of private companies and government departments, public transport and bus terminals would also have to be fully vaccinated by Oct 15.

The international travelers arriving Pakistan would have to be fully vaccinated by Oct 31, it said.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2021