Given rise in coronavirus cases, will schools be closed again in Pakistan?

ISLAMABAD: After the country reported an alarming rise in coronavirus cases,  the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Monday has decided to revisit its "school opening modalities."

The NCOC meeting,  chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar,   also considered deferring the opening up of cinemas, indoor weddings, and dine-in restaurants.

They were expected to reopen from March 15. However, a decision on this has not been announced yet.

The meeting discussed updates from the provinces on rising positivity and corresponding actions, vaccination progress, and national vaccine strategy.

The meeting expressed its concerns over public complacency in following non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs or alternate measures to treat the disease other than medical treatment).

It also reviewed the rising positivity trend prevailing across the country and

NCOC directed the provincial administrations to ensure strict enforcement of NPIs at the grassroots level to contain the disease spread as slackness in adhering to safety guidelines would trigger another outbreak.

The meeting was attended by National Coordinator Lt Geb Hamood Uz Zaman Khan. 

Provincial representatives participated in the meeting through video links.

Back in February,  the NCOC had decided to loosen some of the coronavirus restrictions that it earlier put in place,  adding that the decisions could be reviewed again in view of increased disease prevalence, whenever deemed necessary.