Islamabad: Fearing the spread of coronavirus, the government of Pakistan’s Sindh province has decided to extend closure of educational institutions, both public and private, across the province till March 13.
This came as a 45-year-old woman, who returned from Iran, tested positive for the deadly coronavirus in Pakistan, taking the total number of the COVID-19 infections in the country to five, officials said on Tuesday.
Earlier, on February 29, two more positive cases were reported in Pakistan.
The woman, who returned from Iran some days ago, is a resident of Gilgit city in Gilgit-Baltistan region in the north.
“We have now 5th confirmed case of #COVID19 in federal areas. Patient is stable and is being managed well. I request the media to respect the privacy of the patient and the family,” tweeted Dr Zafar Mirza, Special Advisor on Health.
The Sindh extension in school closure will mark completion of a 14-day quarantine period for those suspected of coronavirus. On February 27, after confirmation of two corona cases in the country of which one was in Karachi, the Sindlh government had announced the school closure until March 2. However, one day before the date for reopening of schools Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah held a meeting with a task force on coronavirus and in consultation with stakeholders it was decided schools, colleges and universities would remain closed till March 13.
The meeting also decided to suspend licences of 25 such private educational institutions that did not comply with the provincial government’s orders and remained open.
The CM directed strict action against educational institutions that defied the order. The closure of schools was important that they remained closed during the times of an emergency, said the CM.
According to the director general for private institutions of the provincial education and literacy department, an inspection was carried out in various parts of the city, including Korangi, Landhi, Gulshan, and others on Monday and it was discovered that a number of private schools were operational in those areas despite the provincial government’s orders. “This is unacceptable and we will not take any risk in the wake of fatal coronavirus outbreak,” he said.
Besides Sindh, educational institutions were asked to close in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and other cities.
