Shafqat Mahmood announces the closure of schools in coronavirus affected areas till April 11

The Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood has announced that all schools in coronavirus hotspot areas will remain closed till April 11.

Speaking to the media after an important meeting of education and health ministers at the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the meeting decided on the closure of schools amid an alarming spike of coronavirus cases in the country.

According to reports, a significant increase in the COVID-19 active cases has occurred in the last three weeks while the positivity ratio has spiked above 8% in the last few days. According to the NCOC data, the number of active cases was 17,352 on March 6 which reached 34,535 on Tuesday.

Taking to his Twitter account, the federal minister had reminded the masses that the third wave of the coronavirus is serious; therefore, it requires careful review.

"All education/health ministers will meet Wednesday, March 24, at the NCOC to take a decision regarding opening or further closure of educational institutions," the minister wrote.

"The health of students, teachers, [and staff is of] primary consideration."

'High risk of COVID-19 spread in schools'

In a statement on Monday, Mehmood said that shutting down educational institutes will be a hard decision but the NCOC believed that there’s a high risk of coronavirus in schools.

“50 million children are linked with education and if someone got infected, the disease would spread," he said.