Amid an ongoing third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan, educational institutions in seven cities in Punjab province, as well as Islamabad and Peshawar, have been closed again for a period of two weeks from Monday.

However, academic activities will continue online during this period, reports The Express Tribune.

Moreover, on-going and pre-scheduled exams can be conducted as planned with the complete observance of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

The seven cities in Punjab province are Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Gujrat, where a major lockdown has come into effect.

This development comes after Federal Minister Asad Umar confirmed that the third wave of Covid-19 has started in Pakistan and attributed the rising number of cases to the virus' UK strain.