Pakistan Shuts Educational Institutes in Worst-hit Cities for Two Weeks

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Educational institutes in seven cities in the province, including Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot, have been shut for two weeks. (PTI photo)

Educational institutes in seven cities in the province, including Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot, have been shut for two weeks. (PTI photo)

The government of Punjab, which recorded more than 1,000 cases for the sixth consecutive day, has also enforced lockdowns in various cities.

  • PTI Islamabad
  • Last Updated:March 15, 2021, 16:58 IST
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Facing a third wave of the coronavirus, Pakistan has shut down all educational institutes in worst-hit cities for two weeks. Pakistan’s coronavirus tally reached 607,453 on Monday after 2,253 new cases were reported in the country. The country’s largest province, Punjab, recorded more than 1,000 cases for the sixth consecutive day. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar warned the public against taking the current wave of the coronavirus pandemic lightly. The provincial government has also reimposed restrictions and enforced smart lockdowns in various cities. Educational institutes in seven cities in the province – including Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujarat, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot — have been shut for two weeks from Monday.

Other cities in the country to face closure of schools are Islamabad, Peshawar and Muzaffarabad. COVID-19 first emerged in the country in February last year and hit a peak in mid-June. However, it started to decline in the following months but surged again in October 2020, prompting the government to issue a warning of a second wave. Fatalities and confirmed cases from the coronavirus have increased steadily since March 1, when Pakistan resumed regular classes at schools.

Federal Minister Asad Umar last week said that the third wave of COVID-19 has started in Pakistan and attributed the rising number of cases to the virus’ UK strain.

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Coronavirus | No lockdown, but fresh restrictions in place for Pune

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The district currently has more than 17,000 active cases while the total death toll has exceeded 9,350.

While clarifying that no lockdown was imposed across Pune district, the administration on Friday said that all schools and colleges would remain closed till March 31 in wake of a heightened spike in cases.

Pune district has been recording the highest single-day jump in Maharashtra for the past few days, clocking up a daily average spike of more than 2,000 cases.

Following a review meeting between district Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar and senior district authorities in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Girish Bapat also present, Mr. Pawar directed the administration to curtail the operating time for hotels and restaurants as well.

“According to the new set of restrictions, schools and colleges will remain closed till March 31, while hotels and restaurants will be allowed to function at 50% of their total capacity till 10 p.m. Take-away food deliveries will be permitted for an hour after that till 11 p.m.,” informed Pune Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao.

He further said that it was mandatory for hotels to put up a board giving details about the occupancy in the premises at any given time.

Mr. Rao further informed that malls and cinema halls were to be kept closed after 10 p.m. while citizens would not be allowed to loiter on roads between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Only essential services are to be permitted during this time.

Given that MPSC exams are imminent, Mr. Rao said that MPSC coaching centres and libraries would be allowed to remain open with 50% occupancy.

The Divisional Commissioner said that rules for the number of people attending wedding functions remained the same (not more than 50 persons), while public transport services were to operate with 50% occupancy.

“Doctors and health workers are of the opinion that vaccination for Pune should get top priority in wake of soaring cases. They have opined that if we have to reduce the impact of the second wave, then vaccination is the best option. Since January 16 till today, the number of vaccination centres in the district have increased seven-fold from 33 to 208 with frontline workers largely covered in the first phase,” informed Mr. Rao, adding that the administration planned to restart the jumbo Covid-19 care facility sited at the College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) premises.

The district currently has more than 17,000 active cases while the total death toll has exceeded 9,350.

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