Three months into 2021, schools across Sindh have already reported over 1,600 coronavirus cases.
Sindh Directorate General Health issued a document revealing coronavirus statistics at educational institutions in the province district-wise.
Karachi topped the list. Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, and Thatta followed.
According to the statistics, the positivity ratios in schools, colleges, and universities every day is 29.8%. The numbers were calculated from January 18, when educational institutions across the country reopened, till March 15.
Here are graphs showing the breakdown of cases in Karachi and other big cities and districts in the province:
According to the spokesperson of Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani, Zubair Memon, when a coronavirus case is reported at a school, it’s shut down for 10 to 15 days.
“Everyone from the staff, teachers, and students are quarantined during this time,” he told SAMAA Digital. “The people in close contact with the infected person are then tested for the virus.”
Memon said that after quarantine, the schools are disinfected, and then students are called back. The cost of the coronavirus test, in the case of public schools, is paid by the government.
Educational institutions across Sindh are holding classes on alternate days with 50% attendance. Schools have been instructed to ensure social distancing is maintained at all times.
Every few weeks, a team of district and assistant officers visit educational institutions for inspection if precautionary measures are being followed.
“Schools violating orders are either fined or sealed for over 15 days,” Memon said. “If it’s a public school, then a show-cause notice is issued and the management is dismissed.”
In the last few weeks, the coronavirus metrics in Pakistan have risen again as the country battles the third wave of the deadly virus. Following this, Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood closed down schools in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Islamabad for two weeks.
Educational institutions in Sindh, Balochistan, and Gilgit Baltistan, on the other hand, have been instructed to continue classes on an alternate basis. Ghani has, however, said that schools may be closed if cases in the province rise.
