The Pakistan government has decided to open schools from 1 March, allowing just 5 days of classes in a week, reported the Express Tribune. For around a year since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus last year, the government had banned physical classes all across the country. 

Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Education Shafqat Mahmood said the country is moving towards normalcy. “Restrictions imposed in some major cities on schools to conduct staggered classes was only till Feb 28,” he said on Twitter. 

“After a review of the Covid cases, these restrictions are being removed. It is; however, reiterated that the SOPs issued by the education ministry in consultation with the health ministry and the NCOC is still fully applicable to schools with a special emphasis on the use of masks, physical distancing, and handwashing,” reads a statement from the Federal Education and Professional Training. 

Dr. Faisal Sultan, the special assistant to the prime minister on national health services, said that the government has been systematically steering progress on all fronts to manage the COVID-19 crisis.