Coronavirus outbeak: Sindh govt suspends registration of 20 more schools

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Tuesday suspended the registration of another 20 schools in Karachi which had been opened despite a closure order issued by provincial authorities amid fears of a coronavirus outbreak.

According to the registrar, Sindh private schools, registration of more than 50 schools has been suspended over the last two days over non-compliance with the provincial government’s orders.

A day earlier, education department officials had raided schools open in multiple locations in the city on the orders of Director General Private Institutions Dr Mansoob Hassan.

Teams raided schools located in Karachi’s Landhi, Lyari, Korangi, Gulshan-e-Hadeed and other areas. 

The officials have requested the chairman, Board of Secondary Education to also initiate action against the institutions.

Read also: Karachi schools face strict action for remaining open despite closure orders

The Sindh government had on Sunday announced that educational institutions in the province will remain closed from March 2, 2020, to March 13, 2020.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had taken the decision so that the isolation period of probable patients could be completed. 

An estimated 738 pilgrims have so far returned from Iran to Sindh during the last one-and-a-half month.

A previous notification from the Government of Sindh had announced the closure of educational institutions from February 27, 2020, to March 2, 2020.

Pakistan confirms fifth coronavirus case

On Tuesday, Pakistan confirmed its fifth coronavirus patient. Strict safety measures are being taken to contain the virus's spread in the country.

“We have now a fifth confirmed case of Covid-19 in federal areas. Patient is stable and is being managed well,” Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the patient was a 45-year-old woman from Gilgit Baltistan who had arrived from Iran a few days ago.

Read also: Balochistan, Sindh education institutes to reopen in March as coronavirus cases confirmed

An official of the health department said the woman was being treated at a hospital and her family members were being tested for the virus.

Earlier, two cases of the novel coronavirus were reported from Karachi, two from the federal areas and one from Islamabad.

All of the patients had traveled to Iran, where at least 66 people have died from the virus, including senior government functionaries, and over 1,500 confirmed cases have been reported.

The pandemic has triggered panic around the world, having killed more than 3,100 (mostly in China) and affected more than 80,000 around the world.