Pakistan says education institutions in COVID-19 hotspot cities to stay shut until April 11

A worker sprays disinfectant in a classroom at a government school in Islamabad on September 14, 2020. (AFP/ FILE)

• Pakistan government had already announced a two-week spring break for schools in several cities in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• '50 million children linked with education, if someone gets infected, the disease would spread,' education minister says

ISLAMABAD: All education institutions located in areas with high coronavirus positivity rates will remain closed until April 11, Pakistan’s education minister said on Wednesday.
The decision was taken in a meeting that brought together federal and provincial health and education ministers at the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) in Islamabad to review the third wave of the pandemic.
“We are aware that closure of schools is affecting children’s education,” Mahmood said, “but we are also concerned about their health.”
The government had already announced a two-week spring break for education institutes in Peshawar, Islamabad and several cities of Punjab province earlier this month to bring the rising number of COVID-19 infections under control.
The break was scheduled to end on March 26, but federal and provincial authorities decided to review the situation as the number of active coronavirus cases doubled in the last three weeks and the positivity ratio shot above eight percent.
There were 3,301 new cases reported in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, and 30 deaths.
Mahmood particularly mentioned Lahore and Islamabad after announcing the government’s decision, saying the infection rate in the two cities remained high.
He also emphasized that the closure of education institutions was applicable to all schools, colleges, universities, academies and religious seminaries located in COVID-19 hotspots, and any center of learning that defied the restriction would be sealed by the authorities.
On Sunday, the federal education minister had announced that all education and health ministers would meet on March 24 at the NCOC, which is the federal body tackling the pandemic, to decide on the closure of education institutions.
“All education/health ministers will meet Wednesday, March 24, at the NCOC to take a decision regarding opening or further closure of educational institutions,” the minister wrote on Twitter. “The health of students, teachers, [and staff is of] primary consideration.”
In a separate statement on Monday, Mahmood said he was not in favor of shutting down education institutes but the NCOC believed there was a high risk of coronavirus spreading in schools.
“50 million children are linked with education,” he said, “and if someone got infected, the disease would spread.”