Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas has announced that educational institutes, both public and private, will remain closed for six days due to the rise in coronavirus infections in the province.

In a tweet on Friday, the minister said, "All Public & Private Schools of Punjab to be closed from September 6th to September 11th, 2021 due COVID 19 conditions."

He urged the people to stay home in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. "Protect yourself and your families," he remarked.

Meanwhile, Islamabad has also decided to impose coronavirus restrictions from September 4 till September 12 to curtail the spread of the virus. In a tweet, Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said that during this time, schools, inter-city transport and indoor gyms will be closed.

Indoor and outdoor dining will also remain closed during this time period, Shafqaat said, adding that the decision is taken due to the increasing pressure on hospitals as the fourth Covid-19 wave takes its toll.

On Friday, Pakistan's coronavirus death toll crossed the 26,000 figure. As per the latest data by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 57 people succumbed to the novel virus during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 26,035 since the start of the pandemic. Currently, there are 5,606 critical coronavirus patients in the country.

Schools in Punjab to reopen on rotation basis

In wake of the increasing number of Covid cases, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar warned on Thursday that patient inflow at hospitals as well as the occupancy of critical care patients is the highest in Pakistan since the outbreak of the pandemic last year.

He said that like the rest of the world, the Delta variant has also had an impact on Pakistan, and is rapidly spreading. This is increasing the burden on hospitals, he added.