ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday welcomed millions of children back to school as educational institutions begin to open tomorrow, Tuesday, after being shuttered in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government announced last week that it would be allowing the “phased” reopening of all educational institutions from September 15 as the number of daily coronavirus infections and deaths has registered a steady decline in the South Asian nation since mid-June in the country.

All higher educational institutions including universities, intermediate and professional colleges, are to reopen from September 15, while grades six through eighth grade will reopen on September 23 and primary schools will resume classes from September 30.

“Tomorrow we will welcome millions of children back to school,” Khan said in a tweet. “It is our priority & collective responsibility to ensure that every child can go to school safely to learn. We have worked to ensure that school operations are aligned with public health safety rules on #COVID19.”

The government has decided to carry on with its decision to reopen schools and universities despite health practitioners’ warning that rapid tests conducted through Find My Doctor, an online health service in Karachi, showed a “very high and alarming” rate of positive cases among school staff.

“We have found up to 18 percent positivity rate in school staff through a rapid test, which shows we are heading toward a disaster by reopening educational institutions,” Saad Siddiqui, founder and chief executive officer of Find My Doctor, told Arab News on Sunday.

According to data on a government portal, Pakistan’s COVID-19 recovery rate had jumped to 96 percent on Monday and the death rate remained at 2.1 percent. Around 289,806 people have recovered from the virus since it was first reported in March, government data shows.