Islamabad, May 16 (IANS): As the Covid-19 situation remained under control in Pakistan during the Eid al-Fitr holidays with daily new cases showing a declining trend, the country has decided to ease a number of restrictions on transportation and commercial activities.

The decision was taken on Saturday during a special session of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the new directives, all inter-provincial, inter-city and intra-city public transport will resume from Sunday instead of Monday.

The transport will, however, be operative with 50 per cent occupancy of passengers, and railways will maintain its operation with 70 per cent occupancy, according to the NCOC.

The NCOC also allowed all markets and shops to remain open till 8 p.m., while all public and private offices are to function with normal working hours but with 50 per cent of the staff starting from Monday.

The forum emphasised on continued monitoring of standard operating procedures enforcement and urged the public to ensure prior registration for vaccination.

According to the data released on Saturday by the NCOC, Pakistan recorded 1,531 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the first time that newly reported cases in a day were less than 2,000 since March this year, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 874,751.

A total of 83 people died during the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 19,467, according to the data.