‘Mothers advised not to bring children’ as PIA shuts baby daycare centre in Karachi

Decision was taken as a safety precaution after emerging of novel coronavirus cases in the country, says statement

KARACHI: The national flag carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), has decided to shut its baby daycare centre near its head office in Karachi from March 16 to May 31.

The decision was taken as a safety precaution, considering the spread of COVID-19 in the country, said an official statement issued on Friday.

"All mothers are advised not to bring their children from Monday (March 16)," the communique added.

As of Friday, the tally for confirmed COVID-19, a mysterious pneumonia-like disease caused by the novel coronavirus, cases in Pakistan stands at 28 with 15 cases in Sindh, eight in Balochistan and five in Gilgit-Baltistan.

A day earlier, the Sindh government had decided that educational institutions across the province would remain closed until May 31 and while also postponing examination for the Class IX and X – initially scheduled for March 16.

Moreover, the top civil and military leadership has decided to adopt a number of precautionary measures to contain the spread of novel coronavirus including sealing the country’s western border with Iran and Afghanistan and cancelling the Pakistan Day parade scheduled for March 23.