Unlock 1: Government announced that it would reopen schools in July amid the coronavirus pandemic
New Delhi:
The government announced today the reopening of schools, colleges, coaching centers and other educational institutions after discussing the situation of coronaviruses with states and Union territories in July.
“Schools, colleges, educational, training and coaching establishments will be opened after consultation with the states and UTs (Union territories). State governments and UT administrations may hold consultations at the level of the institution with parents and other stakeholders. On the basis of the comments, a decision on the reopening of these institutions will be taken in July 2020, “said the Minister of the Interior in a communicated.
The Ministry of Health will establish a list of standard operating procedures in consultation with other education-related ministries and departments to ensure social distancing and contain the spread of COVID-19, the government said in the statement of today.
The Interior Ministry has declared that all activities will be authorized in areas outside the containment areas, with the exception of a few shopping centers and restaurants which will reopen in stages and for which no decision has yet been taken .
All containment areas will be locked until June 30, and only essential services will be allowed, the government said.
All schools and colleges were closed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the closure in late March.
Parents also fear that reopening schools and colleges before the pandemic is deemed contained could be risky for their children. Medical experts have warned that children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, which attacks the lungs.
Summer vacation has already started in schools across the country in the middle of the closure. So far, hundreds of schools have taken online courses by videoconference, even for kindergartens and play schools.
The central school boards had to postpone their exam dates.
India reported the largest single-day increase in the number of new coronavirus patients and those who died due to highly infectious disease with 7,964 new cases and 265 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, This brings the total to 1,733,763 cases, according to data shared by the Ministry of Health this morning.
The country has registered 4,971 deaths since the start of the pandemic. To date, more than 80,000 patients have recovered. Of these, a record 11,264 patients have healed in the past 24 hours.
