All educational institutions closed for winter vacations in Punjab will reopen on January 7 (Friday).

"All schools of Punjab that had winter vacation till January 6th, 2022 will open tomorrow January 7th, 2022," announced Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas through his Twitter account on Thursday.

He urged everyone to follow coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the government.

The National Command and Operation Centre had advised pushing forward the holidays to January so that students could get vaccinated in schools. However, Punjab closed schools for winter break from December 23.

Educational institutions in Punjab were closed for winter vacations in two phases, one on December 23 and the second on January 3.

Number of Omicron cases rising in Punjab

The schools are being reopened as the new Omicron variant is spreading gradually in Punjab, particularly in Lahore. On Wednesday, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that 60% of cases of Omicron in the country have been reported from Karachi and Lahore.

Meanwhile, Pakistan reported 1,085 coronavirus cases on January 5, the highest since October last year when it recorded 1,086 infections, while the positivity ratio also increased to 2.32%.

Currently, there are 13,046 active Covid-19 cases and 636 critical cases. Since the start of the pandemic, Pakistan has confirmed 1,299,848 Covid-19 cases.