Sindh govt directs school to ensure vaccination of students aged 12 and above

• An official notification says vaccination should be made compulsory for all students aged between 12 and 18 years.
• Sindh govt warns schools of strict action against administration in case students aren’t vaccinated.
• In Karachi, 30 new confirmed cases of Omicron variant surface.

KARACHI: The Sindh Education Department has asked schools to ensure all students aged 12 to 18 years are vaccinated as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread across the country.

According to a statement issued in this regard, the government has taken this step with a view to improving the health of students from the coronavirus, letting the educational process continue uninterruptedly, and saving the precious time of the students.

“As per the decision of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the vaccination of COVID-19 of students’ of the age from 12 to 18 years and staff (teaching and non-teaching) is obligatory,” the statement read.

“Therefore, the administration of all privately managed educational institutions is hereby directed through this circular to ensure 100% vaccination of the students and staff of their schools,” it said, adding that the administration of schools is further directed to collect copies of vaccination cards from staff members to ensure the implementation of the orders.

The education department also warned that if any students aged 12 and above or a staff member is found to be unvaccinated during the course of inspection/visit by the administrative team, a panel action will be initiated against the school's administration as per the Sindh Private Educational Institutions (Regulation & Control) Ordinance-2001, Act-2003 and Rules 2005.

The decision was taken after 30 new confirmed cases of Omicron variant surfaced in Karachi, the health department confirmed, taking the total tally of Omicron cases in the metropolis to 163.

A statement issued by the health department said that new patients of Omicron include women as well.

It said that most of the cases are being reported from district East while the second most affected district is South. However, Omicron infections have been detected from district Central, West, and Korangi as well.

Karachi's COVID-19 positivity ratio climbs to 10.25%

With an alarming surge in coronavirus cases in Karachi, the positivity ratio of the megacity reached 10.25% as 650 people were found infected with the virus overnight, the federal ministry of health said earlier in the day.

As per the statistics issued by the ministry, 6,340 tests were conducted in Karachi during the last 24 hours out of which 650 returned positive taking the positivity ratio above 10%.

The health ministry officials said that the reason behind the rising cases in Karachi is an outbreak of the Omicron variant.

"Omicron is replacing the other variants of coronavirus while Delta and Kappa variant cases are declining," the officials said.