Pakistani education, health officials to review decision to reopen schools today

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani education and health ministers have gone into a meeting to decide whether to reopen schools as a third wave of the coronavirus gathers momentum in the country, Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training said on Wednesday.
The number of COVID-19 active cases has doubled in the last three weeks while the positivity ratio has shot above 8%. There were 3,301 new cases reported in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, and 30 deaths. 
Earlier this month, Pakistan closed schools for two weeks, starting March 15.
“Federal and provincial ministers for education and health are in an important meeting chaired by Minister Shafqat Mahmood at the NCOC [National Command and Operation Center] to discuss the situation created by the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Senior health and education officials are also present,” the ministry said in its Twitter post. 
On Sunday, federal minister for education Shafqat Mahmood had announced that all education and health ministers would meet on March 24 at the NCOC, which is the federal body tackling the pandemic, to decide on the closure of educational institutions.
“All education/health ministers will meet Wednesday, March 24, at the NCOC to take a decision regarding opening or further closure of educational institutions,” the minister wrote on Twitter. “The health of students, teachers, [and staff is of] primary consideration.”
In a separate statement on Monday, Mahmood said he was not in favor of shutting down educational institutes but the NCOC believed there was a high risk of coronavirus spreading in schools.
“50 million children are linked with education,” he said, “and if someone got infected, the disease would spread.”