Masks in schools made mandatory

MULTAN BUREAU —The Lahore District Education Authority (DEA) has made masks mandatory for students in schools as smog persists across the city. The authority directed the government and private school administrations to ensure that students wore masks and enforce the standard operating procedures for smog prevention.

The DEA chief executive officer also told schools to encourage students to drink plenty of water and organise seminars on smog precautions and protection from pollution. Meanwhile, Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat rejected rumours that schools would close because of smog. He stated that smog holidays were not under consideration and no decision had been taken to suspend classes.

Educational activities would continue as usual, he said. The minister urged parents to keep their children's schooling on track. He also advised students to take care of their health, follow government guidance for outdoor activities and wear masks when going outside. Air quality readings varied across Lahore monitoring stations on Thursday.

The Punjab Environmental Protection Agency dashboard recorded an Air Quality Index of 478 at Multan Road at 5:00pm, classified as hazardous. Egerton Road recorded 420 and DHA Phase VI 407, also in the hazardous category. Other readings included 374 at Kahna Nau and 370 at Shahdara, both classified as very unhealthy.