MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th March, 2021) Pakistan will close schools in Islamabad and Punjab starting March 15 and continue to enforce the 50 percent attendance policy in Sindh and Baluchistan regions following a spike in COVID-19 cases, Shafqat Mehmood, the country's education minister, said on Wednesday.
All public and private schools will be closed in Islamabad and seven Punjab cities from Monday for two weeks. The cease in educational activities will count as a spring break.
"Educational Institutions in Sindh and Baluchistan would continue with 50% attendance every day. In Punjab spring break will start from Monday March 15 to March 28 in the following cities and all education institutions: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan, Faisalabad and Gujrat. In Capital territory all educational institutions will also close from March 15. In KP they will close in Peshawar," Mehmood tweeted.
The O level, A level and other exams will be held as scheduled, the minister clarified to the Geo tv news outlet.
Pakistani authorities also reportedly made the decision not to lift the ban on indoor gatherings and reimposed the 50 percent work-from-home policy, leaving its implementation to the provinces. Other measures include obligatory use of masks in public areas, 10:00 p.m. time limit for commercial activities and targeted lockdowns.
According to the government, the situation will be reviewed again on April 12 and measures will be updated based on the new data, the news outlet said.
Since the start of the pandemic, Pakistan has confirmed over 500,000 cases of COVID-19 AND 13,324 patients died. With the recent average daily increase of around 1,700 cases, majority of which are registered in Punjab, the authorities were forced to take further measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
