ISLAMABAD : Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting on Friday to review the overall coronavirus situation across the country with the reopening of schools as one of the main agendas of the meeting.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister (CM) Sindh Murad Ali Shah via video link, along with other provincial ministers including Dr Azra Pechoho, Saeed Ghani, and Nasir Shah.

The provincial chief secretary and Inspector General (IG) Sindh also attended the meeting, besides advisers to the prime minister on finance, commerce, health, and national security, Dr Hafeez Sheikh, Abdul Razzaq Dawood, Dr Faisal Sultan, and Moeed Yousuf.

Ehsaas Programme chief Dr Sania Nishtar and Special Assistant Lt Gen (retd) Asim Bajwa were also present.

According to a spokesperson, the meeting was informed that a steady decline has been recorded in the coronavirus deaths during the past week. Consequently, the reopening of schools across the country after a hiatus of almost six months came under discussion.

“Until the vaccine arrives, we have to learn to live with the coronavirus,” CM Sindh said, maintaining that children and the elderly in particular need to be protected from the contagious disease.

With six more fatalities from the virus across Sindh over the last 24 hours, the provincial minister informed the committee that about 2,394 patients have succumbed to the deadly contagion in Sindh so far.