The education department of Punjab stated that schools would not be shut down in the province at the moment, since the COVID test results will determine their closure.
“Schools will not be closed for the moment. After the revision of guidelines for educational institutions by the National Command and Operation Centre, (NCOC), Covid tests will be conducted in schools first.
It is decided that schools will be closed based on their positivity ratio. Additionally, the health department teams are ready to begin testing in educational institutions.
Schools with high positivity ratio will be closed for one week
The NCOC had declared that all schools with high COVID-19 positivity rates would be closed for one week in the country.
The NCOC issued a notification in this regard. It stated that “Education institutions and premises, sections, special classes with high positivity will be closed for ONE Week.”
Further, the notification stated that the provincial administration must consult with education authorities and district health officials to determine a threshold number of cases to be closed.
To determine disease spread among students, the NCOC stated that COVID testing was done in education institutions in major Omicron-hit cities. This is to ensure accurate mapping of disease. In light of the results, NCOC made the following decisions:
Read more: Impact of COVID-19 on Education in Low-Income Countries
For the next two weeks, aggressive testing will be conducted in educational institutes, especially in areas with high levels of disease prevalence. Special vaccination drives are carried out in schools by federating units to ensure that all students aged over 12 years receive 100% vaccination.
