ISLAMABAD – The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday gave go-ahead to reopen primary and middle schools, and universities across the country from February 1.
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar after reviewing the coronavirus situation in the country. Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood attended the meeting while officials of all provinces joined the session through video link.
The top monitoring body issued strict recommendations of staggered classes for three days a week in the urban areas due to higher positivity rate of coronavirus.
However, universities would resume classes as per the usual schedule.
The meeting was also informed that vaccination centres have been set up all across the country, wherein staff trainings and other arrangements have been finalised to launch the drive.
It is noted that classes from 9th to 12th were reopened on January 18.
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At least 74 people lost their lives due to the novel coronavirus infection while 1,563 fresh cases have reported in the last 24 hours, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) said Wednesday.
With the new 74 fatalities, the death toll has surged to 11,450 while the number of confirmed cases stands at 537,477.
In the past 24 hours, as many as 2,081 patients have recovered from the virus in a day; total recoveries have recorded at 492,207.
As of Wednesday, the total count of active cases is 33,820. The national positivity ratio is recorded at 3.7 percent.
Sindh remains at the top in terms of cases followed by Punjab and other regions.
At least 242,793 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 155,214 in Punjab 65,953 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 40,972 in Islamabad, 18,765 in Balochistan, 8,877 in Azad Kashmir, and 4,903 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Moreover, 4,646 individuals have died due to the novel virus in Punjab 3,925 in Sindh, 1,857 in KP, 469 in Islamabad, 258 in Azad Kashmir, 193 in Balochistan, and 102 in Gilgit Baltistan.
9th to 12th classes to start from Monday; primary schools to reopen from Feb 1
