ISLAMABAD: In light of the escalating cases of Covid-19, the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) resolved on Monday not to close schools. Shafqat Mahmood, the Federal Minister of Education, presided over the meeting via video link. The meeting took stock of the current state of Covid-19. In a statement, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas said classes for children under the age of 12 years will be allowed with 50 percent attendance. He said that schools can’t be closed to prevent children from further learning losses. He added the government can’t make a decision on the closure of schools until other sectors are shut down. On Jan 15, the Sindh government’s task force on Covid-19 decided to keep all educational institutions in the province open. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah presided over a meeting of the Sindh Task Force that announced a set of restrictions to control the fifth wave of the pandemic. According to the task force, government employees who break the SOPs, including the mask-wearing requirement, would have to pay a fee that will be withheld from their pay. It was also determined to perform a survey of all hospitals, both private and public, to determine their capacity.