Schools to be closed from March 15 due to COVID-19 outbreak

Lahore, 10th March: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has announced the closure of schools in Punjab from March 15 until March 28 keeping in view a rising number of coronavirus cases.

Baaghi TV: According to reports, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood announced on Wednesday the decisions taken by the NCOC to close schools from Monday, March 15 to March 28 in seven cities of Punjab.

2/2 Educational Institutions in Sindh and Baluchistan would continue with 50% attendance every day. In Punjab spring break will start from Monday March 15 to March 28 in the following cities and all education institutions: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan, 3/3

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) March 10, 2021

Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas has now revealed the names of the cities where schools will be closed down for two weeks.

The minister took to Twitter to announce that all public and private schools in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Multan and Sialkot will go on a spring break from March 15th, 2021 to March 28th, 2021.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
Spring Break in all Public & Private Schools of Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot will be from March 15th, 2021 to March 28th, 2021. All Public & Private schools in rest of the Districts will follow regular schedule.

— Murad Raas (@DrMuradPTI) March 10, 2021

The provincial minister tweeted, “Spring break in all public and private schools of Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot will be from March 15th, 2021 to March 28th, 2021.”

According to the minister, schools in other districts will follow their regular schedule. The announcement applied to all public and private schools.

Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood while speaking to the media after a meeting at the NCOC, said, “The good news is that in Sindh and Balochistan, the situation is pretty much normal. As per the decisions taken [during the meeting] only 50% of students will be allowed in schools [in Sindh and Balochistan] and they will observe all SOPs including social distancing and wearing masks.”

2/2 Educational Institutions in Sindh and Baluchistan would continue with 50% attendance every day. In Punjab spring break will start from Monday March 15 to March 28 in the following cities and all education institutions: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan, 3/3

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) March 10, 2021

However, in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the federal minister said that while 50% of attendance in educational institutions will be followed, some cities will see stricter measures.

He further said, “All educational institutions in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot will remain closed from March 15 till 28.”

3/3 Faisalabad and Gujrat. In Capital territory all educational institutions will also close from March 15. In KP they will close in Peshawar. Decision regarding Muzzafarabad will be taken by AJK Government. We will continue to review the situation

— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) March 10, 2021

Schools and other educational institutions in Islamabad will also be closed from Monday on account of a spring break and be reopened on March 28.