LAHORE – Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas announced on Thursday that all public and private schools will reopen across the province from August 2.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “Schools will open with staggered approach. 50% students in all classes on any given day”.
He has asked the schools’ officials to follow the Covid-19 SOPs issued by the government in order to avoid the spread of the virus amid rising number of cases in the country.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
All Public & Private Schools of Punjab to open on August 2nd, 2021. Schools will open with staggered approach. 50% students in all classes on any given day. Details are in the attached Notification. Please follow COVID SOPs as issued by the Government. pic.twitter.com/UPzObxwhm4— Murad Raas (@MuradRaasMR) July 29, 2021
The schools in the province had gone on summer vacation from July 1 to August 1.
The decision comes a day after acting secretary of federal education ministry held a virtual meeting with provincial authorities where it was decided that vacation will not be extended.
The meeting further announced that board exams will be held as per schedule despite students’ demand for online exams.
Pakistan’s Positivity Rate Stands at 7.5%
Pakistan’s National Command and Operation Centre reported more than 4,000 new COVID-19 infections for the second day in a row.
According to the NCOC, 4,497 of the 59,707 tests performed in the previous 24 hours were positive. The additional cases bring the total number of COVID-19 cases to 1,020,324.
The positivity rate stands at 7.5%.
Pakistan reported 76 additional fatalities due to COVID-19 for the first time after June 9. As a result, the total death toll in the country has risen to 23,209.
Furthermore, 1,612 people have recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of recoveries to 937,354, with 59,761 ongoing cases.
Sindh is one of the worst affected by the fourth wave of the pandemic. Given the worrisome increase in COVID-19 infections in the provincial capital Karachi, Pakistan Medical Association Secretary-General Dr Qaiser Sajjad has proposed a 15-day lockdown of the city.
According to official data, the positivity rate of COVID-19 in the city has increased to 30%.
“If we count those people who have not taken a PCR test for COVID-19, the positivity ratio in the city has likely reached 40%,” Dr Sajjad said.
He also said that the administration has no choice but to enforce a full lockdown due to the worrisome increase in the number of coronavirus infections in the city.
According to Pakistan’s health ministry, the country’s COVID-19 mortality rate in July exceeded worldwide death rates.
