LAHORE: Punjab has reported 487 fresh coronavirus cases and seven more deaths during the last 24 hours taking the provincial tally to 109,309 and deaths to 2,462 across Punjab.
851 more people have recovered from the coronavirus across Pakistan, taking the country's total recoveries to 322,414. As many as 1,316 virus patients are in critical condition.
Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas in an interview said that schools in the province are strictly following the coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs), while those schools where positive COVID-19 cases emerged have been temporarily sealed.
"We are closely monitoring the coronavirus situation because of which you are seeing very few cases of coronavirus among schoolchildren and teachers," he said. "There are 120,000 public and private schools in Punjab, so it is not possible to visit every school to monitor whether they were following protocols or not. So far, positive cases of the infection have been confirmed in 117 schools, out of which 16 have been sealed."
"We are carrying out random testing. When we find there is a single case, we suspend the classes, and if there are multiple cases reported on campus, we temporarily shut down those schools," Raas said.
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid in a briefing gave deadline of enhancing the immunization coverage to 90 percent by June 2021.
The Health Minister said, "The freshly recruited 650 vaccinators must be posted immediately in all districts to improve coverage. These are in addition to over 1100 vaccinators already brought in system recently. By the end of December, the process of addition of another 1000 vaccinator will be completed and hiring on 50 % vacant positions will also be completed. This is for the first time since 2014 that vaccinators in such numbers have been included in the system. Urban slums are fast emerging a problem area and there has to be a household survey. Every family head must communicate the status of immunization of children through mobile phones.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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