Just a day after relaxation in restrictions, Pakistan’s daily coronavirus cases jumped over 3,000 on Monday, signaling another rise in the ongoing third wave of the pandemic.
The South Asian country recorded 3,232 cases over the past 24 hours, compared to 2,379 and 1,531 infections on Sunday and Saturday, respectively.
The government on Sunday allowed the reopening of inter-provincial and inter-city transport, which has remained shut for a week during the Eid holiday — the Muslim festival that heralds the end of the holy month of Ramadan — from May 9 to 15.
The NCOC’s proactive response to the pandemic has so far ensured that the health system is managing to cope with the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. It’s centralized approach has been the most distinguishing feature between India and Pakistan. https://t.co/hgJQqQtaBm
— Javed Hassan (@javedhassan) May 12, 2021
The deaths due to the virus rose by 74, reaching 19,617, according to the Health Ministry.
The South Asian country’s total caseload stands at 880,362, with 792,522 recoveries, while the tally of active cases is 68,223.
The government has also allowed the reopening of all government and private offices with 50% attendance from Monday.
Educational institutions to remain closed
Notably, the NOCO announced last week all educational institutions — schools, colleges, universities, and others — will remain closed till May 23.
The NCOC said a meeting to review the decision would be held on May 18 and the decision to reopen the educational institutions would be taken after taking into account the coronavirus situation at the time.
The decision came after NCOC held a session today to review the coronavirus situation in the country.
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The government has in the past few days tightened restrictions already imposed in light of the coronavirus situation, as the country continues to register thousands of COVID-19 cases daily, with hundreds dying from the infection every day.
Amid the worsening situation, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood, on April 27, had announced that as per NCOC’s recommendations, all board exams have been postponed till June 15.
Mehmood said that from April 18 (when the last meeting of the education ministry was held) until now, the number of coronavirus cases has rapidly risen, therefore, the government has decided to postpone all exams until June 15.
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He said the country seems to be headed towards a complete lockdown in areas witnessing particularly high positivity ratios. “Exams of 9, 10, 11 and 12, which were supposed to begin from the end of May, have been delayed further,” the minister said. “No board exams will be held till mid-June (June 15).”
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk