School meeting put off as Shafqat Mahmood tests positive for Covid

ISLAMABAD: Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood on Thursday contracted Coronavirus for the second time in less than a year.

Taking to Twitter, Mahmood said that he was feeling mild symptoms after being tested positive for the virus.

“I have unfortunately tested positive for coronavirus. My symptoms are mild so far and I feel fine. Hopefully with some rest will recover soon,” he wrote.

He urged people to continue to take all precautions, especially wearing a mask at all times.

The education minister had earlier tested positive for COVID-19 in May 2021.

The development comes after the minister was scheduled to head a meeting of provincial ministers to discuss policy aimed at combatting the virus in schools.

In the last 24 hours, Pakistan reported more than 3,000 coronavirus cases for the first time since September 15, 2021, the National Command and Operations Centre’s (NCOC) data showed Thursday morning.

The NCOC data showed that the country registered 3,019 more cases in the last 24 hours, taking the overall infections’ tally to 1.31 million. The positivity ratio has reached 6.12% — the highest in more than four months, as the infection rate was last above it on September 8, 2021.