Sindh reopens primary schools as Covid cases decline

KARACHI/LAHORE/PESHAWAR: Primary schools in Sindh reopened from Monday with strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) as coronavirus cases declined in the province, however, Covid-19 claimed 30 lives and infected 907 people across the country during the last 24 hours.

According to instructions issued by the Sindh government, schools reopened with 50 per cent attendance, while school teachers and administration had been directed for ensuring implementation of government guidelines.

In Lahore, scores of people staged a protest at Expo Centre on Monday demanding AstraZeneca vaccine after the administration stopped inoculation due to vaccine shortage. The charged people gathered at Expo Hall No 3 to vent their anger for being denied AstraZeneca vaccination as it is required and acceptable for the passengers travelling abroad.

However, Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines were reportedly being administered to the people as usual. Similarly, in Gujranwala, overseas Pakistanis held demonstration outside the vaccination centre over the shortage of AstraZeneca vaccine. A heavy contingent of police had been deployed to avoid any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Monday received a consignment of 240,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine. According to the director general Health Services, the newly received vaccines had been dispatched to the districts concerned and the process of vaccination against Covid-19 continued uninterrupted in the province.

Till date a total of over 1,711,000 vaccine doses had been administered to the people, while vaccination was under way at 675 centres across the province.

According to the latest figures issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), coronavirus claimed 30 lives and infected 907 people, while 829 patients recovered from the disease across the country during the last 24 hours.

Among the 30 deaths, 28 patients were under treatment in hospitals, while two were in their respective quarantines or homes. Fourteen patients were on ventilators. The National Covid positivity ratio during the last 24 hours was recorded as 2.6 per cent.

Around 893,148 people have recovered from the disease so far across the country, making it a significant count with over 90 per cent recovery ratio. Since the pandemic outbreak, a total of 949,175 corona cases have been detected across the country. Punjab has reported 345,065 cases; Sindh, 332,254; KP 137,075; Balochistan, 26,633; Islamabad, 82,368; Azad Jammu and Kashmir 19,967; and Gilgit-Baltistan, 5,813.

A total of 14,148,424 corona tests, including 34,754 during the last 24 hours, have been conducted across the country, while 639 hospitals are equipped with Covid facilities.The national tally of fatalities has reached 22,007, while 2,238 corona patients were in critical condition.