34 children test corona positive in schools

LAHORE:As many as 34 children were diagnosed coronavirus positive out of 13,796 randomly tested students and staff members in government and private schools during the first three days of opening of educational institutes in the province.

According to details issued by Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD), 24 children were diagnosed as COVID-19 positive in various schools in Gujranwala, seven children in schools in Nankana Sahib, one child and a school staff member in Bhakkar, and one school staff member in Lodharan district in Punjab. A spokesman for P&SHD informed that the health officials have done contact tracing of schoolchildren and staff members, who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, for the purpose of testing their family members for coronavirus. “The department has also sealed two schools – Govt Girls Higher Secondary School, Shah Kot, and Garrison School in Nankana Sahib,” he informed.

The P&SHD spokesman said that the health officials took swab samples of 14,746 schoolchildren from government schools and 1,566 students from private schools and sent them for coronavirus tests. He informed that any school in which more than two students/ staff members are detected with coronavrius will be sealed for five days.

Two more patients die: Two more patients succumbed to COVID-19 and 101 new infections were confirmed in Punjab during the last 24 hours, according to a report issued by Primary and Secondary Healthcare (P&SH) Department on Friday. The toll of fatalities rose to 2,225 in Punjab while the number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus reache 98,142 in the province. Out of a total of 98,142 infections in Punjab, 95,362 citizens contracted the virus through local transmission. The remaining 2,780 COVID-19 infections were confirmed among members of Tableeghi Jamaat, the Zaireen returning from Iran and prisoners.

According to a spokesperson of Corona Monitoring Room at Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, 11,928 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours which raised the total number of tests to 1,115,546 in the province.

After 2,225 fatalities and recovery of a total of 94,739 patients, 1,178 active cases still remain there who are either isolated at homes or under treatment at different quarantine centres and health facilities.