PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday announced the closure of schools, college and universities from Sept 6 to Sept 11 and suspension of inter-city public transport from Sept 4 to Sept 11 in eight districts of the province.

The restrictions come on the recommendation of the National Command and Operations Centre as 28 more people lost life to coronavirus in the province.

The elementary and secondary education and higher education departments and the transport and mass transit department issued separate notifications for the closure of educational institutions and suspension of transport.

The districts, where educational institutions were closed and public transport was suspended, included Peshawar, Swabi, Malakand, Swat, Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra and Dera Ismail Khan.

Covid claims 28 lives in province including 20 in Peshawar

A health department report said the province recorded 28 deaths from coronavirus and 20 of them were reported in provincial capital.

It added that four people died of the virus in Abbottabad, three in Dera Ismail Khan and one in Bajaur.

According to the report, 485 new Covid-19 cases were reported across the province with the most from Peshawar i.e. 148. Also, 267 patients recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours.

The educational institutions had resumed in-person classes in May after closures for many months due to the third wave of Covid-19. The surge in coronavirus incidence led to the closure of educational institutions many times.

According to a notification issued by the elementary and secondary education department, the educational institutions will be closed for in-person classes from Sept 6 to Sept 11.

It read, “The instructions are subject to be reviewed in light of any further directions issued by NCOC or provincial government.”

Another notification issued by the higher education department said the colleges and universities were closed for in-person learning until further orders. However, they will continue offering education online.

It added that the districts, where educational institutions hadn’t been closed, would continue with in-person classes in line with the standard operating procedures already notified by the government for the prevention and control of coronavirus.

A notification issued by the transport and mass transit department said the inter-city public transport would remain suspended from Sept 4 to Sept 12 in eight districts of the province.

The department directed the district administrations to ensure ban on the entry and exit of all public transport vehicles to their respective areas.

It added that administrations of the adjoining districts will extend help in that respect and make sure to ban any public transport passing through their districts bound for the high-risk districts in question.

According to the notification, the restriction will not apply to the private vehicles, medical and other medical services, and goods/freight transport.

Meanwhile, provincial director (transport) Fahad Ikram Qazi said in a video message that the campaign to enforce travel restrictions would be launched from Friday night with the collaboration of the district administrations and traffic police.

He urged the people to help the government implement those restrictions to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

Also, the home department issued a notification banning indoor and outdoor gatherings and gyms in the high-risk districts for the period.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2021