KP closes Schools due to rise in Coronavirus cases

Peshawar: Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahram Tarakai announced that the provincial government has decided to shut down schools in eight more cities where the coronavirus positivity rate has surpassed 10%.

The education minister stated this during a press conference following a Provincial Task Force (PTF) meeting on anticoronavirus, which Chief Minister Mahmood Khan chaired.

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Schools will be closed from tomorrow until March 28, adding that workers will continue to work and that parents can come to pick up their children's homework.

Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Kohat, Malakand, Swat, and Dir Lower are among the cities where school closures have been declared. On March 10, the National Command and Operations Centre issued orders for educational institutes in Peshawar to close.

Schools in all districts where the ratio of positive coronavirus cases exceeds 5% will be closed, according to Tarakai.

Provincial ministers, Corps Commander Peshawar, Chief Secretary KP, IGP, and related administrative secretaries attended the meeting, which reviewed the province's coronavirus situation.

A committee of cabinet members, including Taimur Salim Jhagra, Shaukat Yousafzai, and Kamran Bangash, was also formed to examine the possibility of market closures.

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The meeting was informed that the rate of coronavirus-positive cases in southern districts was 1%. The Dera festival and Jeep Rally were allowed to take place under the condition that all safety precautions were followed. Non-compliance can result in the cancellation of services.

The chief minister described the current coronavirus situation as "alarming" and urged residents to take all necessary precautions.

He encouraged citizens and business leaders to work together to introduce standard operating procedures and behave responsibly to defeat the pandemic.