K-P Covid scare forces school, college closure

The provincial government has decided to close down all the schools in eight districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) from September 6 to September 11 while the colleges will be closed from September 4 till further orders.

The decision was taken by National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in a meeting and implemented by the provincial government. The order will be effective in eight districts including Peshawar, Malakand, Swabi, Manshera, Haripur, Abbotabad and Swat.

The decision was taken after an alarming increase in the ratio of Covid-19 positivity. In this regard the Higher Education Department and Elementary Education Department have issued two separate orders.

In the first order issued by Higher Education Department, all the colleges have been closed from September 4 in the eight districts. While Elementary and Secondary Education Department has said that all schools will remain closed from Monday September 6 till September 11.

Read More: Additional NPIs to be implemented to curb Covid-19 spread: NCOC

On the other hand, Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) has started booster dose of Covid-19 vaccines for those Pakistanis who intend to travel abroad. Official sources told The Express Tribune that the facility of the booster shot could be availed from 8 o’clock in the morning till 10 at night.

They said that since the Sinopharam and Sinovac vaccine was not acceptable in many Gulf and Western countries so the decision had been taken to introduce a booster shot too.

“The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has already issued instructions that people of 12 years age or above could avail the facility of a booster jab after showing their travel documents,” he said, adding that businessmen, those working abroad, students or tourists or Umra travelers could take a booster shot from the hospital.

“The vaccination center has been established near gate number three of the hospital. Travel documents including Passport, Visa and receipt of Rs1270 are a must in this regard,” he said, adding that the amount could be deposited in any branch of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).

So far around 331 people have availed the facility from the HMC vaccination centre.

Meanwhile, the district administration has decided to strictly observe the lockdown in Peshawar and those policemen who would not take action against the violators would be transferred from their police stations as punishment.

Talking to The Express Tribune, a government official said that it had already been decided that a weekly two day lockdown will be observed in the city and it would be Friday and Saturday in some localities and Saturday and Sunday in others.

“We have identified the areas where the potential violations are taking place and this has been shared with the police. And the district administration has also been asked to ensure that lockdown is observed completely,” said the official, adding that the fourth wave was in full swing but still people were careless about the SOPs and shopkeepers and traders were not observing the lockdown.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2021.