PM applauds NCOC, SBP as Pakistan ranks third-best in global normalcy index

July 07, 2021 (MLN): With a score of 84.4 out of 100, Pakistan placed third in “The Economist’s Global Normalcy Index” among 50 nations, suggesting that the country has taken effective measures against the covid-19.

While global average for return to pre-pandemic activity is 66.6 on a scale of 0 to 100 that indicates life is halfway back to pre-covid norms.

The index tracks the progress of countries towards getting back to pre-pandemic life based on indicators that include Time not at home, Retail, office Use, Public Transport, Road traffic Flights, Cinema and Sports attendance.

On this big achievement, Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter and applauded National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) members, Ehsaas team & State Bank of Pakistan for effective response to Covid 19 pandemic.

The country scored above 100 In the category of retail, office use, time not spent at home and public transport. It is worth highlighting in terms of public transport, Pakistan has seen a steady increase post the first lockdown, much above the global average, and has crossed the March 2020 level after a slight decline in April-May 2021 lockdown, as per Business Recorder research.

On the contrary, flight operations in Pakistan, which remained far above the global average through much of the pandemic, are now at their lowest level since April-May 2021 and mainly due to travel restrictions and quarantine laws. In addition, there are also international flight operation restrictions from Pakistan to control the infection. Recently, NCOC further eased restrictions, allowing indoor dinners for the first time since November 2020, as well as opening cinemas.

Topping the normalcy index chart was Hong Kong with a score of 96.3 followed by New Zealand with 87.8.

Pakistan's neighbor India has a score of 46.5, ranking it near the bottom in the 48th position. China was ranked 19th (score 72.9) and the United States (72.8) is 20th.

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