The pink-eye (conjunctivitis) outbreak has spread throughout Punjab to an alarming level as the number of infected persons shot up rapidly, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

The number of patients suffering from conjunctivitis has now reached thousands, and the hospitals are running out of their capacity to accommodate them.

Medical experts have advised people suffering from conjunctivitis to be careful and wash their hands frequently with soap.

On the orders of Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, all the government and private schools will remain closed tomorrow.

The schools will now open on Monday when children suffering from conjunctivitis will be checked by teachers themselves at the main entrance of schools.

The affected children will not be allowed to attend schools. The caretaker chief minister announced the holiday during a visit to the Government School, Ravi Road in Lahore.

He also paid a surprise visit to Said Mitha Hospital where he expressed his anger after he found that four doctors, suffering from conjunctivitis, were operating on a patient whose roof was also leaking.

He reprimanded the medical superintendent for allowing the staff with conjunctivitis to come on duty.

Meanwhile, caretaker Minister for Health Nadeem Jan told 24NewsHD TV channel that the size of the five-member committee, formed to deal with the issue of pink eye outbreak, has been enlarged to 15 members.

 

Reporters: Kifayat Ali Shah and Saud Butt