COVID-19: Sindh government revises earlier notification, closes schools for indefinite period

Islamabad: The Sindh government has, contrary to its earlier announcements on opening of educational institutes, said schools will be closed indefinitely till the COVID-19 situation improves.

The provincial government has attributed this abrupt decision to the fourth wave of COVID-19 and increasing number of cases in the country.

According to a notification, all public sector and private schools, colleges and universities will remain closed in the province till the COVID-19 situation improves in the country.

Earlier, the provincial government had given a number of dates for opening of educational institutes in the province — August 19, August 23 and August 30.

Woman flight officer dies

A young woman officer of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has died due to COVID-19-related complications.

Flight Lieutenant Dr Mahnoor Farzand was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Malir Cantt for treatment, but died after her condition deteriorated. She was suffering from multiple organ failure.

The news of her death was announced by Doctors Wake-Up Movement (DWM) on its official twitter account.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Dr Mahnoor Farzand fighting COVID-19 with her stillborn child. She was a graduate of Baqai Medical College & was serving as Flight Lieutenant in Pakistan Air Force. Our condolences & deepest sympathies go out to the family. May her soul rest in peace, says the tweet.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has allowed Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in connection with the death anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev on September 22.

After the NCOC’s decision, Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs also issued a notification that the corridor would be opened with immediate effect.

The notification stated that Indian visitors would be allowed to travel daily from dawn to dusk as per bilateral protocol, after complying with precautionary measures on COVID-19.

The Kartarpur corridor allows for visitors from India to cross the border without a visa to visit Gurudwara Darbar Sahib.

COVID-19 cases continue to rise

Pakistan’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise despite the vaccination drive which is in full swing in the country. According to the NCOC, 3,842 new cases of COVID-19 were reported against 53,527 tests conducted during the last 24 hours.

This shows the positivity rate of the virus in the country at 7.1 per cent while there were 89,334 active cases of COVID-19 in the country. The NCOC data also reveals a steady rise in the number of recovered cases in the past twenty-four hours—3,477 persons recovered from COVID-19.

All the vaccination centres are working across the country and according to the NCOC, 915,856 doses of vaccine were administered countrywide in the last 24 hours while in all 46.456 million doses have been administered so far.