ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) on Friday announced closure of educational institutions in areas that had a high-rate of COVID-19 cases for a week.

According to a notification issued on Friday, the provincial administrations in consultation with district health, education authorities, and school administrations, will determine the closure of schools.

“Data suggests a strong correlation between vaccination levels and infection rate in various cities,” it added.

Covid tests should be done for 2 weeks in educational institutions of cities affected by Omicron, the notification further read.

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

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

On Wednesday, the NCOC announced a set of new restrictions in cities with an over 10% Covid-19 positivity ratio.

The meeting had decided to impose a complete ban on all types of indoor gatherings, including dine-in and wedding, and all types of contact sports in the districts and cities where the Covid-19 positivity rate exceeded 10%.