ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Education, Shafqat Mahmood has clarified that educational institutions are not being closed despite the second COVID-19 wave in the country.
On a social media website Twitter, the minister said, “Rumours again afloat regarding school closures. It is again clarified that educational institutions are NOT being closed,” he added.
Shafqat Mahmood said that the government will continue to monitor the health of students, teachers and school staff but at the moment no such decision (about closing schools or educational institutions) has been made.
Rumours again afloat regarding school closures. It is again clarified that educational institutions are NOT being closed. We will continue to monitor the situation as health of the students, teachers and staff is very important but at the moment no such decision has been made
— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) November 2, 2020
His clarification comes a day after the country reported 1,123 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day rise since July 26.
Pakistan’s positivity rate surged past 4% on Sunday – the highest since August. At least 12 people succumbed to the virus. Till now, Pakistan reported more than 1000 infections of the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the total number of COVID-19 cases rose by 1,123 to 335,093 as the second wave of the deadly virus continues its toll.
Nearly 12 people died in the past day due to complications from the virus, lifting the death toll from the highly contagious disease to 6,835, the authority informed.
As many as 27,953 tested were conducted resulting in the emergence of 1,123 fresh infections. The number of active cases stands at 13,242 while 707 are said to be in critical conduction.
Sindh has reported 146,331 cases, Punjab 104,554 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 39,649, Balochistan 15,954, Islamabad 20,089, while Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir have recorded 4,279 and 4,237 cases respectively.
