Schools closed, again

Author: Agencies

All schools situated in areas with a high Covid-19 positivity ratio will remain closed for one week across the country, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced on Friday.

According to a notification issued in this regard, the NCOC said, “Educational institutions, premises, sections, specific classes with high positivity to be closed for one week.”

The notification added that the provincial administrations, in consultation with district health, education authorities, and school administrations, are to set a threshold of cases for deciding such closures. The NCOC added that Covid testing in educational institutions was carried out in major Omicron-hit cities to ascertain disease spread among students and ensure accurate disease mapping. Therefore, keeping in view the results, the NCOC has taken decisions including aggressive testing in educational institutions for next two weeks especially in high disease prevalence cities and federating units to carry out special vaccination drives in schools to ensure 100% vaccination of students over 12 years of age.

Earlier in the day, the NCOC also issued fresh standard operating procedures (SOPs) for mosques and worship places across the country.

Under the SOPs issued on Friday, only vaccinated individuals are allowed to offer prayer in mosques or worship places while wearing face masks has been declared mandatory.

The worshippers will be required to maintain a social distancing of at least six feet and mosques have been asked to remove mats and carpets from their premises. The NCOC has also advised elderly and comorbid persons to prefer offering prayer at home and maintain minimal attendance for the prayer. The SOPs also recommended use of hand sanitiser frequently and organising prayer in open spaces or ensure proper ventilation to contain the spread of the contagious disease. It also asked the mosque-goers to prefer performing ablution at home and recommended short sermons for Friday prayer.