NCOC decides not to close schools amid Omicron surge

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided Monday against closing schools in light of rising cases of Covid-19, ARY News reported.

Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar presided over a meeting of the NCOC that took stock of the current Covid-19 situation and mulled over restrictions to control the spread of the virus.

Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood and provincial education ministers attended the meeting via video link.

The country’s nerve centre for Covid response decided to begin large-scale Covid-19 testing at educational institutions. The decision on closure of schools will be taken after reviewing the case trend, it said.

Also Read: NCOC to reimpose restrictions after sharp rise in COVID-19 cases

Separately, Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas said classes for children under the age of 12 years will be allowed with 50 per cent attendance.

He said that schools can’t be closed to prevent children from further learning losses. He added the government can’t take a decision on closure of schools until other sectors are shut down.

On Jan 15, the Sindh government’s task force on Covid-19 decided to keep all educational institutions in the province open. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah presided over a meeting of the Sindh Task Force that announced a set of restrictions to control the fifth wave of the pandemic.

Also Read: Pakistan logs 4,340 new COVID-19 cases

Government employees flouting the SOPs, including the mask-wearing rule, will have to pay a fine to be deducted from their salary, the task force said. It further decided to conduct a survey of all hospitals, including private and public health facilities, to assess their capacity.