UHS Lahore suspends in-person classes for two weeks over latest coronavirus scare

• UHS Lahore announces two-week closure as Pakistan's coronavirus positivity rate rises from 3.6% a week ago to 6.5%.
• UHS Lahore notes that the ongoing exams "will be held as per schedule" and that the staff would strictly adhere to the coronavirus SOPs.
• NCOC head Asad Umar issued a grim warning earlier today that the third wave has begun in Pakistan.

LAHORE: The University of Health Sciences (UHS) Lahore on Friday announced a two-week closure amid the latest coronavirus scare as COVID-19 positivity rate in Pakistan shot up from 3.6% a week ago to 6.5% today.

Asad Umar — the federal minister for planning and development, as well as the head of the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), the body monitoring Pakistan's coronavirus situation — issued a grim warning earlier today that the third wave has begun in the country.

Also read: Coronavirus cases cross 600,000 as threat of third wave looms

In a post on Twitter, the varsity wrote that the UHS and affiliated medical and dental colleges have been closed for two weeks — from March 15 to March 28, 2021.

"No physical classes will be held during this time [and] all classes will be shifted to an online method according to the timetable," it wrote on Twitter.

"Ongoing exams will be held as per schedule," the UHS Lahore added, noting that the university staff would strictly adhere to the coronavirus-related standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Related: Asad Umar says no doubt that the third coronavirus wave has begun

Pakistan crossed the 600,000-case mark on Friday after 2,701 new infections were reported over the past 24 hours, according to the daily data issued by the NCOC.

The rise in the number of cases is alarming for policymakers since it was only a month ago when Pakistan had crossed the 500,000-mark.

Pakistan's worrying coronavirus situation

A breakdown of the data showed that of the 600,198 cases, 10,816, 19,171, 4,959, 46,963, 75,052, 182,576, and 260,661 were reported from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh, respectively.

Read more: Three educational institutions closed in Islamabad due to rising coronavirus cases

On the other hand, the total active COVID-19 cases stand at 18,703, while 568,065 people have recovered in Pakistan. The NCOC added that 54 new deaths were also recorded in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally of coronavirus-related deaths to 13,430.

Out of the total, Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and AJK reported 4,452, 5,698, 2,138, 520, 202, 103, and 317 deaths, respectively.

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