NCOC directs provinces to not reopen schools in high coronavirus positivity areas

• The NCOC has set a cap of 5% positivity ratio for reopening of schools.
• Districts with low infection rates can reopen educational institutions on May 24.
• Districts with high infection rates can reopen educational institutions on June 7.

The National Command and Operations Centre — the body leading Pakistan's efforts in the fight against coronavirus — has directed provinces to refrain from reopening educational institutions in districts with high COVID-19 infection rates.

The NCOC, in a letter sent to the provinces, said educational institutions in the districts where the coronavirus positivity ratio is high, should not reopen on May 24 as was previously decided.

They must instead remain closed till June 6.

"The districts where the infection rate is less — below 5% — can reopen educational institutions (on May 24)," NCOC said in a notification sent to the provinces.

The NCOC has set a cap of 5% positivity ratio for reopening of schools; if a district has an infection rate higher than the limit, educational institutes there are barred from reopening.

A decision on whether or not educational institutes can reopen on June 7 will be taken on June 3, the letter added.

52 districts with high positivity ratio 

A day earlier, the Federal Education Ministry had said educational institutes in 12 districts of Sindh will remain closed till June 6, as the coronavirus positivity ratio in those districts is higher than 5%.

In a statement, the ministry said the districts include Badin, Dadu, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, and all districts of Karachi.

All educational institutions will remain closed throughout Islamabad, the federal ministry added.

The statement said the positivity ratio is high in 52 districts across Pakistan and so all educational institutes in these areas will remain closed till June 6. This includes four districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir — Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Bagh, and Sadhnaut.

In Balochistan, the positivity ratio is high in Quetta.

In Punjab, it is high in Attock, Bahawalpur, Bhakkar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Khanewal, Khushab, Lahore, Layyah, Lodhran, Mianwali, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Okara, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, and Toba Tek Singh.

In KP, 14 districts have a high positivity ratio, including Abbottabad, Bannu, Buner, Charsadda, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Haripur, Kohat, Karam, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Swabi, and Swat, and so education institutes here will also remain closed.