ISLAMABAD-The district health authority on Tuesday urged the deputy commissioner office to close three educational institutions after confirmation of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases there.
The health authority has asked to close two public sector girls’ educational institutions and one private sector elite school. All three schools reported above one COVID-19 case during testing of the surveillance teams.
The schools where COVID-19 cases were confirmed include Islamabad College for Girls (ICG) F-6/2, Islamabad Model College for Girls (IMCG) I-9/1 and Beaconhouse metropolitan campus G-11/3. Details said that three COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Beaconhouse, three in IMCG I-9/1 and two cases were reported in ICG F-6/2. The notification issued by the District Health Officer (DHO) to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) said that it is hereby advised to immediately close down the campus premises for a period till further intimation by the office of the undersigned (DHO) and conduct thorough disinfection activities as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination.
It said that furthermore, COVID-19 testing of all the exposed staff/students must be performed and adherence to SOPs must be ensured. All close contacts cases of the cases must be quarantined for a period of 14 days.
The District Health Office reported that the positivity ratio of the COVID-19 infection in the city has reached 4.8 per cent. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services (NHS) Dr. Faisal Sultan said that COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations in Pakistan are increasing once again. The decline seen over the past two months is clearly reversing as positivity has gone up from 3.31% to 4.16% within a week. We must remember that the pandemic is not over.
He also urged the public to save lives by following SOPs. He asked to avoid crowded places (esp indoor and if poorly ventilated), wear a mask and wash your hands frequently.