Pakistan shuts educational institutions to curb spike in COVID-19 cases 

ISLAMABAD: Starting from Monday for two weeks, Pakistan shut downed educational institutions in Islamabad, Peshawar and densely populated areas of the Punjab province once again to limit a third wave of the coronavirus disease, officials said.
“Educational Institutions in Sindh and Baluchistan would continue with 50% attendance every day. In Punjab, spring break will start from Monday March 15 to March 28 in the following cities and all education institutions: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan,” Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood tweeted last week. 
This is the third time since last year that Pakistan has shut down its educational institutions to curb new coronavirus infections. 
The closure of schools and colleges follows partials lockdowns imposed by capital city Islamabad and Punjab, the country’s most populous province, on Sunday.
Punjab has reported 60 percent of the new COVID-19 cases with smart lockdowns imposed in Lahore, Gujarat, and Rawalpindi.
Restrictions have also been tightened in the capital, with a ban on all indoor activities and outdoor functions limited to two hours with less than 300 people in attendance. Offices in the capital have been instructed to run on 50 percent capacity as well.
As of Monday, 2,253 people had tested positive for COVID-19, with 29 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, taking the total fatality count to 13,537 since February last year, according to the health ministry.
In another development, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said that a Karachi United (KU) player – one of the teams participating in the National Women’s Football Championship 2021– had tested positive for COVID-19.
“KU has been advised to get their entire squad tested,” the PFF said in a statement on Monday, adding that “all teams in first and second contact have been advised to get their squads tested.”
Meanwhile, according to an interview by state-run Radio Pakistan quoting Planning Minister Asad Umar, Pakistan will start registering people aged 50 and above in the next ten days for a vaccination program.
Umar, who heads the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) – which oversees Pakistan’s coronavirus response – said that those aged 60 and above must get registered for the vaccine because “coronavirus can hit them easily.”