ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday recorded 2,443 new coronavirus cases and 32 deaths in the past 24 hours, marking the third day in a row when authorities reported more than 2,000 infections from across the country, government data showed.
According to the health ministry’s COVID-19 portal, the total tally stood at 356,904 cases, as of Sunday.
Faced with a continuous surge in infections, Pakistan’s Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said an “important meeting” would be held on Monday to discuss the latest developments.
“We have convened an important meeting of provincial education ministers on Monday at 11 am to discuss the latest coronavirus situation in the country. As stated before health of students is our no one priority,” Mahmood tweeted on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) which leads the country’s anti-coronavirus efforts, called for a ban on large public gatherings and enhanced restrictions in high-risk areas.
The measures include a ban on all public gatherings of more than 500 people; closure of schools for winter vacations based on consultations with federal and provincial education ministers; timings for outdoor dining and take away to be limited to 10 p.m.; cinemas, theaters and shrines to be shut down with immediate effect; and revised operational hours for markets and shops.
In May, two weeks before the Eid Al-Fitr festival, Pakistan began to ease its lockdown restrictions after nearly three months, with authorities blaming the decision for a surge in infections in the weeks that followed.
In August, the government announced that all sectors would be shut down to prevent the spread of the deadly and highly contagious virus.
