ISLAMABAD: After National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday announced the closure of schools in seven Punjab cities, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has also announced the closure of all universities in several cities of Punjab due to a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases, ARY News reported.
A notification has been issued in this regard.
Universities across Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Peshawar and Islamabad will remain closed for 14 days.
#Covid-19 Pandemic
Universities to Go Online for Two Weeks in Selected Cities pic.twitter.com/YJ62BEh6Pk
— HEC Pakistan (@hecpkofficial) March 10, 2021
According to HEC, all universities in the above-mentioned cities will remain closed for physical attendance from March 15 to March 28.
However, academic activities will continue online in the following universities during this period.
The HEC said that ongoing and pre-scheduled exams will go as planned with the complete observance of Covid-19 health and safety protocols.
The higher education commission has advised universities to ensure strict observance of Covid-19 sops i.e., thermal scanning, wearing facemasks, social distancing, availability and regular use of sanitizers and disinfection of buildings.
Read More: NCOC decides implementing work from home policy, early closure of trade centres
Earlier today, the NCOC took major decisions to curb the spread of novel coronavirus through the continuation of smart lockdown policy in hotspot areas.
The NCOC head Asad Umar chaired a session where the federal and provincial officials briefed the participants regarding the current situation of pandemic and government steps.
It has been decided to implement the 50 per cent staff to work from home policy after consulting the provinces. However, the operation centre decided to immediately implement the work from home policy for 50 per cent of staff in Islamabad.
Moreover, the participants decided to implement the policy for the early closure of trade centres till 10:00 pm and park till 6:00 pm. The decision for allowing in-door meals and wedding ceremony was withdrawn by the NCOC, however, out-door and take-away services will remain available for the nationals.
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