Islamabad: Pakistan’s death toll due to COVID-19 crossed the 16,000-mark on Saturday as the country witnessed 112 mortalities in a period of twenty-four hours.
The total fatalities in the country have reached 16,094 making Saturday the fifth straight day with more-than-100 deaths.
Earlier, in the current week, 118 deaths were reported on Tuesday, 124 on Wednesday and 110 each on Thursday and Friday.
According to the official portal of the Ministry of the National Health Services, 4,976 new cases were reported in the country after 65,279 tests during the last one day taking the total number of cases to 750,158.
There are 79,108 active cases in the country while the positivity rate remained 7.62 per cent in the country, the official data further reveals.
According to Pakistan’s apex body monitoring the spread of COVID-19 virus in the country and taking measures to check and curb it, the National Command & Operation Centre (NCOC), vaccination of the persons in the age group of 50-59 is starting from April 21, Wednesday.
The NCOC has asked the people of the said age group to get themselves registered and visit their nearest vaccination centres which will be working in two shifts from the said date.
Schools in KP, Punjab reopening
Meanwhile, schools in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) are resuming classes of the grade-9 to grade-12 with effect from Monday, April 19.
The provincial governments had closed the educational institutes in those districts that are hit by coronavirus and where the positivity rate is above 10 per cent.
In Punjab, classes 9, 10, 11, 12 will start in public and private schools on April 19 but only two days a week i.e. Monday and Thursday, announced the provincial education minister Murad Raas.
The minister announced in his message on social media the “entire classes of 9,10,11,12 to be called on only Monday and Thursday. Since Classrooms of 1 through 8 will be empty, students can be spread over the whole school to follow SOPS.”
Meanwhile, most of the commercial areas in Karachi remained open on Saturday after the “All Karachi Tajir Ittehad” or All Karachi Traders Union announced the traders would not follow the new timings and schedule of business markets.
The Sindh government had a day earlier notified that markets would only be allowed to operate from Sehri (dawn) to 6pm.
The provincial government has been changing the timings of the markets’ opening and closure on every other day creating too much confusion for the shopkeepers and general retailers,” said the Chairman of the union, Atiq Mir.
“We have spent billions on purchasing goods before Eid al Fitr in anticipation of increase in demand. Limiting market hours will only create problems for the common citizens,” Atiq Mir further said.
