The Sindh government has extended the closure of educational institutions across the province until May 30 as a precautionary step against coronavirus.

It was decided in a Sindh cabinet meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on late Thursday. Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said that the metric examinations have also been postponed. The educational institutions will now reopen on June 1, 2020, he added.

https://twitter.com/SaeedGhani1/status/1238163989588250624

Ghani said that that this closure would be considered as summer vacation.

The meeting was attended by all the provincial ministers, advisors, chief secretary Mumtaz Shah, Chairman P&D M Waseem, secretaries of school education, colleges and university and boards and general administration.

The chief minister said that he had been chairing taskforce meeting on coronavirus from the last 14 days. The virus has become pandemic, therefore the government has to take drastic measures to contain it, he added.

The cabinet after thorough discussion decided to close the schools until May 30, 2020.

The cabinet also proposed to discourage every kind of social and religious gatherings.

The chief minister directed the commissioners through chief secretary to hold meetings with the religious scholars and minorities’ leaders and discuss how the religious congregation could be discouraged in the present condition.

Prisoners

The cabinet members raised the issue of prisoners who meet with their relatives during their hearing in the courts and then return to the crowded jails. The chief minister directed health department to issue advisory of jail inmates and their family members with whom they meet during the hearings and at the jail.