ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) is likely to reach a decision regarding the closure of schools, a preventive measure amid the dangerous rise in COVID-19 infections, as it reviews the existing coronavirus situation in the country in a meeting currently underway.
The forum has convened a meeting and invited the federal and provincial health and education ministers to suggest a new set of guidelines to deal with the worsening coronavirus situation in the country over the weekend.
A new set of SOPs is being discussed, with its focus on schools and the education sector as a whole, public gatherings, marriage ceremonies, indoor/outdoor dining, and the transport sector.
The meeting is discussing ways and means to prevent the spread of coronavirus in schools, colleges, and universities.
The decision to extensively engage with provinces, especially with the Sindh government, was made in the last NCOC meeting on Saturday for necessary measures to tackle the rising coronavirus numbers.
Punjab doesn’t want schools to shut down: Yasmin Rashid
Shortly before the NCOC meeting started, Punjab health minister Yasmin Rashid had said that they do not favour the closure of schools.
“We don’t want the schools shut since education has already suffered enough,” Rashid said.
She said that Punjab has vaccinated 80% of its students in schools and colleges.
Talking about the fast approaching Pakistan Super League 2022, the minister said NCOC is to decide on whether it will allow spectators at the venues or not.
‘Pressure on hospitals can increase any time’
Moreover, Pakistan Medical Association Secretary-General Dr Qaiser Sajjad had said that with the rapid spread of Omicron in the country and especially in Karachi, the pressure on hospitals can increase at any time.
“We weren’t strict in the last four waves of coronavirus, but we have to be strict this time,” Dr Sajjad said, adding that marriage halls and restaurants will have to be closed and gatherings restricted.
While the entire country has been badly hit by the fifth wave of coronavirus, the situation in Karachi is growing graver with every passing day as the positivity ratio of the city climbed close to 40% a day earlier, with a further rise expected this week.
‘Karachi expected to report 50% positivity ratio’
The federal health officials said that they expected the situation in Karachi to change in the coming week as the positivity ratio might hit 50%, leading to an increase in hospitalisations.
The officials also said that daily cases were expected to shoot up to 6,000.
However, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has said that the decision to impose a lockdown and close educational institutions will be taken in line with the NCOC’s recommendations.
CM Shah had said that the coronavirus cases were spreading at a rapid pace, but the situation was under control as hospitalisations and patients in intensive care units (ICU) in the port city were less.
What is the current status of COVID-19 in Pakistan?
Meanwhile, as many as 4,340 new COVID-19 cases in Pakistan pushed the active cases to 35,884 in the last 24 hours, while seven deaths pushed the death toll to 29,019, the NCOC’s data showed Monday morning.The positivity ratio was detected at 8.71% after 49,809 tests were conducted and the overall cases have reached 1.328 million, while the recoveries stand at 1.26 million.
