Kabul, May 29, 2021, SPA -- Afghanistan's Health Ministry on Saturday announced the closure of many schools, universities and educational centers across the country, including the capital Kabul, to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19, as dpa reported. All government and private educational institutions will close for two weeks in 16 of the country's 34 provinces from Saturday, the Afghan ministry said. The decision was made after 977 reported new cases on Friday, the highest number of positive cases over 24 hours since the outbreak began. --SPA 15:03 LOCAL TIME 12:03 GMT 0011 www.spa.gov.sa/w1563674