Coronavirus: “Cancel exams” trends in Pakistan amid rise in cases

Coronavirus: “Cancel exams” trends in Pakistan amid rise in cases

The students in Pakistan are demanding cancellation of exams across the country as 5,499 new coronavirus cases were recorded in the last 24 hours taking the country's Covid-19 tally to 772,381.

The students took to Twitter and inititaed a trend #CancelExamsSaveStudents to urge the federal education minister Shafqat Mahmood to cancel the exams amid rising cases of coronavirus in the country.

A Twitter user tagged the education minister in her tweet saying “The rising number of cases and deaths show that Covid-19 isn’t  joke.” She urged the government to think logically and avoid putting the lives of so many students at stake. “We have already lost too much in this pandemic and we simply cant bear to lose more,” she lamented.

Another social media use shared a graph showing the Covid-19 related deaths in the country raising a question on the performance and sensitivity of Ministry of National Health Services, Pakistan, “How can @nhsrcofficial be so careless to not only put thousands of students but their families at risk.” The students advised the ministry to stop being “influenced by the Cambridge and Private school Mafia” and make policies that are beneficial for all.

A student from Peshawar updated the education minister in his tweet about the rising number of coronavirus cases in K, “the positivity rate has increased to 25 percent and Mardan positivity rate is 26.9 percent and Nowshera positivity rate is 22.9 percent”. He asked the minister if it is still safe to hold exams in the province.

Another concerned student told the minister that he cannot put the lives of students at risk. “You still have time to make the right decisions (keeping in view the health of students).”

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the country's death toll climbed to 16,600 after 147 people succumbed to the deadly disease during the last 24 hours. Most deaths occurred in Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Meanwhile, 5,488 patients recovered from the deadly disease in a day taking total recoveries to 672,619.

According to NCOC, total active Covid-19 cases across the country were reported to be 83,162.

The highest number of ventilators occupied in the country was found to be in Mardan with 91 per cent occupancy, followed by Gujranwala with 88 per cent occupancy, Multan at 85 per cent, Lahore at 81 per cent.