ISLAMABAD: As Covid-19 cases continue to hover above 3,000, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday decided to close till April 11 educational institutions in Islamabad as well as in selected districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where virus prevalence is high.

On the other hand, the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has written a letter to Transparency International Pakistan (TIP), defending prices of vaccines set for the private sector.

Meanwhile, the NCOC data reported 3,301 cases and 30 deaths in a single day. As many as 364 Covid-19 patients were on ventilators while the number of active cases had reached 36,849 as of March 24.On Wednesday during a presser, Education Minister Shafgat Mahmood said earlier it had been decided that educational institutions would remain closed f rom March 15 to March 28 in cities where the number of cases was high.

Later some more districts were added by provincial governments.

`It has now been decided to keep educational institutions closed till April 11. However, federating units will have discretion to include more districts. Administrators of educational institutions can call teachers; we will continue vigilance over the situation,` the minister said.

`We know it will be damaging for the education of students but we cannot take risk. It was also decided that board exams will be held this year as it is not possible to promote students again like last year. As f ar as Cambridge exams are concerned, they are going to start from April 26 so we will hold a meeting with the relevant administration to discuss if those exams can be extended,` he added.

The minister said the next meeting of education ministers would be held on April 7.

He warned of strict action against academies that remained open during this period.

The NCOC had eased restrictions on Feb 24 af ter a drop in positive cases, but had to re-impose curbs on March 10 when infections surged again.

It announced spring vacations from March 15 to March 28 in educational institutions in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Islamabad, Muzaffarabad and Peshawar. However, the centre allowed holding of final examinations, including those of O and A levels. Balochistan and Sindh, meanwhile, were advised to limit attendance to 50 per cent.

On March 22, the government decided to enforce broader lockdowns and restrict mobility, except in emergencies, in cities where positivity ratio topped 8pc.

A decision about educational institutions was to be taken on March 24.

AstraZeneca expected in a few weeks On the other hand, as it is hoped that AstraZeneca vaccine would reach Pakistan in the next few weeks, the NHS ministry has again circulated a guideline regarding vaccine storage, handling, administration and safe disposal along with recommendations for vaccine recipients.

The document states that the vaccine should be given to individuals who are above 18 years of age and not to those having fever, patients with active Covid-19 and lactating women.

`Once opened, multi-dose vials should be used as soon as practically possible and within six hour s when kept between +2°C and +25°C. All opened multi-dose vials should be discarded at the end of immunisation session or within six hours whichever comes first.

It should be stored between +2°C to +8°C and should be protected from light,` it stated.

Transparency International The NHS ministry has written a letter to the Transparency International Pakistan (TIP), stating that prices ofCovid-19 vaccines had been fixed while keeping in consideration international market rates and public interest.

TIP chairperson retired Justice Nasira Iqbal had asked Prime Minister Imran Khan on March 22 to review the policy of allowing private import of Covid-19 vaccine and cancel it altogether, as across the globe, governments were procuring vaccines and administering them to their citizens for free as it was the responsibility of the state.

JusticeIqbalhad stated thatPakistan was one of the first countries to allow the private sector to import and sell such vaccines.

`This will provide a window of corruption as there are possibilities that the government`s vaccines may be sold to private hospitals,` she said.

The letter referred to the procurement of Sputnik-V, comprising 50,000 doses,by the private sector and hxing its maximum sale price at Rs8,449 for two doses and that of China`s Cansino vaccine at Rs4,225 per injection.

`The global price set for Sputnik-V vaccine is $10 per dose, which means that internationally two doses of Sputnik-V are available for $20.

However, the approved price for its commercial sale in Pakistan is 160pc higher than the international price. It may be pointed out that in India, a single dose of Gamalya Centre/Sputnik-V vaccine costs less than INR734 ((Indian rupees).

With this rate, taking into consideration difference in the currency value system, cost of Sputnik-V in Pakistan should be Rs1,500. The cost of the vaccine in Pakistan is 150pc higher than the international market price, Justice Iqbal had highlighted in her letter.

However NHS Secretary Aamir Ashraf Khawaja, in a letter dated March 24 and available with Dawn, claimed that the government had left room for competition and free market dynamics while fixing the maximum retail price.

He claimed that it would not be easy for companies to get vaccines at cheaper rates as they were being sold in millions of units and being procured by big players such as countries and international alliances.

`Whatever number of doses they [companies] can bring in means potentially saving lives,` Mr Khawaja said, defending the decision of exorbitant prices.