PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa government on Tuesday extended the closure of schools till April 5, 2020 as Pakistan's coronavirus tally surpassed 900.
Earlier, the provincial government had decided to keep the schools closed till March 31, 2020.
Pakistan is not the only country in the world that has closed schools. More than 850 million young people, or about half the world's student population, are barred from their schools and universities; grounds because of the novel coronavirus, UNESCO said.
Calling it an "unprecedented challenge," UNESCO said schools had been closed in 102 countries, with partial closures in 11 more — with more closures to come.
On March 13, the National Security Committee decided to close all schools, colleges, universities and madressahs throughout the country till April 5, 2020.
"In a meeting of the National Security Committee presided over PM Imran Khan, it has been decided to close all educational institutions in the country till April 5. This includes all schools and universities, public and private, vocational institutions and madaris," Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood tweeted.
Punjab on Tuesday reported its first death from the coronavirus in the province as the number of confirmed patients rose to 918 nation wide.
Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department said that the number of cases in the province stands at 38 after four new patients were reported earlier this week, while the number of reported cases in Gilgit-Baltistan is 80.
Balochistan has reported 108 cases, while one case has been reported from Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In Islamabad, 15 patients have been confirmed to have contracted the virus.
The country has also reported six deaths from the virus, with Balochistan reporting its first death on Sunday.
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