Murad Raas gives COVID-19 vaccination update in Punjab schools

LAHORE: More than 5.6 million children have been vaccinated in schools across the province, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas said Monday.

Sharing an update on vaccination in schools amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in the country, the education minister said that 91% of children in public schools and 87% in private schools have been vaccinated so far.

“We along with Health Department are moving full speed ahead,” Murad Raas said.

'Punjab on high alert'

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Bazdar has issued directives to intensify the vaccination campaign in the province where the positivity ratio has reached 2.67%.

The process of giving booster doses to the citizens should be ensured in all cases, he said in a statement issued today.

He expressed concerns over an increase in coronavirus cases due to the Omicron variant.

The chief minister said that the Punjab government is taking all possible steps to protect the lives of the citizens.

The provincial government is on a high alert to deal with COVID-19, he added.

Pakistan records over 1,000 cases for fifth day

The country registered more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases for the fifth straight day, as the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 continues to push infection rates across the country.

The National Command and Operations Centre's (NCOC) COVID-19 statistics from Monday morning showed that Pakistan registered 1,649 cases in the last 24 hours, a day after the case daily caseload was reported at 1,572 — the first time since October 3 that daily cases were above 1,500.

The country's positivity rate stands at 3.66%.

The patients on critical care have moved up from 604 on Sunday to 617 in the last 24 hours, as the deaths came down from seven to three, according to NCOC's data.

A total of 162.1 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered, with over 73 million people fully vaccinated and more than 99 million people partially vaccinated.