Punjab schools to return to normal routine from tomorrow

All public and private schools of Punjab, including those in Lahore and Rawalpindi, will resume their normal operations from Wednesday (tomorrow), Education Minister Murad Raas announced hours after the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) eased restrictions in cities with less than 10 per cent Covid positivity.

While making the announcement, the minister urged the public to continue to "follow Covid SOPs issued by the government."

The improvement in the situation and the steps towards restoring the usual life activities came on the back of a stepped-up vaccination campaign, which crossed another significant milestone of administering 200 million doses.

The NCOC – the nerve centre of the government’s unified effort to contain the spread of the pandemic – said in a statement today that the country “achieved a major Covid vaccination milestone as the total vaccine doses administered have surpassed 200 million”.

Health officials said that vaccination of 92.5 million people had been completed, while more than 120 million people had received at least one shot of the vaccine – the 78% of the vaccine-eligible population.

Also read: WHO lauds Pakistan for administering 200m Covid jabs

Last month, Pakistan saw a very high number of Covid cases amid the fifth wave of the disease stoked by the Omicron variant. However, the cases showed a declining trend with the advent of February.

Today, the NCOC said that the single day tally of fresh Covid cases fell to 2,597 during the last 24 hours, while the death toll which was over 40 last week, fell to 27. Also the national positivity ratio came down to 5.40%.

The masses were urged to get themselves vaccinated. “Together, we can turn the tide against Covid19 by getting fully vaccinated,” the NCOC said in a tweet. “It is up to us to beat coronavirus by getting vaccinated and wearing a mask. Remember to get your booster shot six months after your second vaccine dose,” Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan tweeted separately.