Classrooms come alive again

Educational institutions resume classes, NCOC takes decision as Covid positivity rate eases to 3.02%

ISLAMABAD:

All educational institutions across the country reopened on Monday with a few exceptions after witnessing a decline in coronavirus cases.

All schools in Punjab, all educational institutions from Grades IX and above in Sindh and all higher educational institutions in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have resumed classes as the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic showed signs of easing with the positivity rate lowering to 3.02%.
Schools in Balochistan reopened on May 24.

According to the Express News, the lockdown has been eased and all educational institutions in the country have been reopened in light of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decisions.

“No compromise will be made on the implementation of important coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs),” according to the NCOC. “Strict SOPs are being implemented in schools as masks, hand sanitisers and social distancing have been made mandatory for students.”

Further, the NCOC has made coronavirus vaccination mandatory for teachers and non-teaching staff.

According to the Express News, the temperature of students is being checked at the entrance of various educational institutions. “Students are not allowed to hug or shake hands.”

On June 6, 248,861 people across the country were vaccinated against coronavirus. So far, 296,842 people have been vaccinated.

“All public and private sector universities will reopen under strict compliance of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) notified by the NCOC,” a notification from the K-P Higher Education Department read.
The provincial government of Sindh on Sunday also decided to reopen educational institutions from Class-IX and above with 50% attendance.

A high-level meeting presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah also eased a number of other restrictions imposed during the third wave of the pandemic and allowed shops and markets to operate till 8pm while also permitting marriage halls to start offering marriage functions in open spaces.

According to the daily data released by the NCOC, 47,376 cases of Covid were recorded with 1,490 more people testing positive for the deadly virus and 1,820 people recovering from the disease during the past 24 hours.

Fifty-eight coronavirus patients have died during the last 24 hours, 55 of whom were under treatment in hospitals and three out of hospitals in their respective quarantines or homes.

During the last 24 hours, most of the deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Sindh.

Of the total, 58 deaths occurred in the last 24 hours – 29 of them had died who were under treatment on ventilators.

There were 3,205 Covid-infected patients under treatment in critical care in various Covid dedicated healthcare facilities in the last 24 hours.

The maximum number of ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Peshawar 26 per cent, Lahore 28 per cent, Bahawalpur 42 per cent and Multan 53 per cent.

The maximum oxygen beds (alternate oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per medical requirement of Covid patient) were occupied in Abbottabad (32 per cent), Peshawar (29 per cent), Karachi (32 per cent) and Multan (30 per cent).

Around 401 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no Covid-affected person was on ventilator in Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) or Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

Some 49,285 tests were conducted across the country on Sunday, including 14,369 in Sindh, 21,546 in Punjab, 7,628 in K-P, 3,366 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,326 in Balochistan, 325 in G-B, and 725 in AJK.

Around 864,931 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 per cent recovery ratio of the affected patients.

Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 933,630 cases were detected that also included the deceased, recovered and under treatment Covid-19 patients so far, including AJK 19,519, Balochistan 25,819, G-B 5,642, ICT 81,766, K-P 134,558, Punjab 342,498 and Sindh 323,828.

About 21,323 deaths were recorded in the country since the eruption of the contagion. Around 5,136 have perished in Sindh, 20 of whom died in hospitals on Sunday.

About 10,314 people had died in Punjab with 24 deaths occurred in the last 24 hours.

Twenty-one of them died in hospitals and three out of hospitals.

In K-P, 4,158 people died. Of them, 14 died in hospitals on Sunday. In ICT, 765 people died, Balochistan 289, G-B 107 and AJK 554.