All schools situated in areas with a high COVID-19 positivity ratio will remain closed for one week across the country, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced Friday.

According to a notification issued in this regard, the NCOC said: "Education institutions, premises, sections, specific classes with high positivity to be closed for ONE week."

The notification further added that provincial administration in consultation with district health, education authorities, and school administrations are to set a threshold of cases for deciding such closures.

The NCOC added that COVID testing in education institutes was carried out in major Omicron hit cities to ascertain disease spread among students and ensure accurate disease mapping.

Therefore, keeping in view the results, the NCOC has taken the following decisions:

Aggressive testing in education institutes for next two weeks especially in high disease prevalence cities.

Federating units to carry out special vaccination drives in schools to ensure 100% vaccination of students over 12 years of age.