2023-09-27 14:09:54
More than 56,000 schools will close for the rest of the week in Pakistan, in an attempt to block an epidemic of conjunctivitis, we learned from an official source on Wednesday.
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From Thursday, millions of students will be deprived of school in the province of Punjab (central-east), which has recorded 357,000 cases of conjunctivitis since the start of the year.
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the eye causing redness, itching and discharge. It is a common disease and most often benign, but very contagious.
The province of Punjab is the most populous in the country, with 127 million inhabitants. It has 56,000 public schools and thousands of private schools which will also have to close.
“We hope this will stop the transmission of infection in the province,” Mr Ali added.
Schools across the country were already scheduled to close on Friday, which is a public holiday. But many will reopen for the weekend, to offer additional courses or organize exams.
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