At least 36 children have died due to pneumonia caused by cold weather in the last week in Pakistan's Punjab province, prompting the authorities to impose a ban on holding morning assemblies in schools, an official statement said on Thursday.

The move to impose a ban on morning assemblies till January 31 came as the province also saw a surge in the number of pneumonia cases among school children apart from the 36 deaths caused by it.

"Last week at least 36 children died of pneumonia in the Punjab province due to extreme cold weather. The government has been forced to impose a ban on holding a morning assembly in schools till Jan 31 due to the extreme cold weather," said the statement issued by the Punjab government.

Vacation has also been announced till January 19 for the classes of nursery, prep and playgroup.

Concerned with the situation, the officials also issued basic health directions for the children to keep them safe from the cold weather.

"The children should wear masks, wash their hands and use warm clothes so that they can be prevented from catching pneumonia," it said, adding that eight out of 10 children are suffering from Pneumonia in Lahore's Children's Hospital.

It said that children having complaints of cough, fever or a sore throat should not be sent to schools.

"Last year 990 children died of pneumonia in Punjab," it said and expressed grave concern over the rise of pneumonia cases among the children in the province.

Following the situation, Punaj's Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi held detailed consultations with senior doctors regarding adopting preventive measures to save children from catching pneumonia.

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