Corona creeping up again

ISLAMABAD: Rising cases of COVID-19 and an alarming increase in the overall positivity ratio prompted the government Wednesday to announce spring holidays in all educational institutions of Islamabad, seven major cities of Punjab, and Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The two-week spring break will commence from March 15 and continue till March 28.

“This order, however, will not be applicable to institutions and students taking send-up examinations. There will be no postponement of send-up exams,” Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood clarified at a media briefing which he jointly addressed with the PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Faisal Sultan.

“The earlier decision of allowing indoor weddings, indoor dining, and opening of cinemas and shrines with effect from March 15 also stands withdrawn,” Dr Faisal announced. Whereas the option of outdoor dining and take-away will remain permissible, outdoor gatherings will continue to remain limited to a maximum of 300 individuals, with strict enforcement of COVID-19 SOPs. All decisions will be reviewed on April 12, the ministers stated.

The briefing was arranged to announce key decisions impacting the education and health sectors in the wake of a deteriorating scenario vis-à-vis the COVID-19 disease pattern. The decisions were taken at a review meeting convened by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), with Minister Asad Umar in the chair.

With reference to the education sector, Shafqat said all educational institutions in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Sialkot, and Rawalpindi in Punjab; Peshawar in KP; and Islamabad will be closed for spring holidays from March 15-28. The order will be applicable to all institutions — be they schools, colleges, or universities. “Educational institutions in all other cities and districts across various provinces will continue with 50 percent attendance; however, the provincial governments will constantly review the situation, and will exercise their discretion to close an institution, should the situation so demand,” Shafqat said.

Shafqat termed the COVID-19 situation in Sindh, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan being fairly good, making 50 percent attendance permissible in these provinces, of course with strict adherence to social distancing, wearing of masks, and observance of other relevant SOPs. He also advised the administrations of educational institutions to observe and monitor their students, and to inform the authorities in case of detection of cases. He said, measures for Muzaffarabad will also be announced soon. The NCOC will continue to analyse the situation over the next two weeks.

Sharing decisions associated with the Ministry of Health, Dr Faisal said strict compliance of instructions pertaining to use of masks and social distancing will continue across the board in view of the prevailing disease pattern and rising positivity ratio.

Dr Faisal said that all administrative institutions in the provinces have been advised to enforce smart lock downs and micro smart lockdowns, depending on disease hotspots in their respective areas. The SAPM said that all federating units agreed that the provinces should use their discretion with regard to 50 percent work from home policy. “In Islamabad, however, this policy comes into force with immediate effect,” he announced. The SAPM said that all commercial activities barring essential services such as pharmacies will be closed by 10 pm and all amusement parks will close by 6 pm. “Every province is, however, free to exercise its judgment, depending on its peculiar situation. Any federating unit wanting to impose stricter measures is also free to do so,” Dr Faisal said, adding, “The measures announced today are only baseline decisions.”

Dr Faisal said, vaccination of senior citizens has commenced. He advised all citizens above 60 years of age to send their NIC numbers to 1166 for information about the centre they should visit for vaccination. He said that the citizens are also free to choose a centre of their choice, in case it is not convenient for them to visit the centre communicated to them via text message. He said that centres have been pre-designated only to prevent public inconvenience and to ensure availability of adequate doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Earlier, Dr Faisal referred to a perpetual increase in COVID-19 cases and positivity ratio during the last 10 days. “When the positivity ratio increases, so does the number of patients. More patients are being examined today than a month ago in February, when the situation was in better control. An increase in cases only burdens our medical institutions and the health system at large,” Dr Faisal concluded, advocating for religious adherence to stated SOPs.