Delhi government introduces new advisory for schools due to rising Covid-19 cases
Manish Sisodia, Delhi's deputy Chief Minister ordered the state education department to release new guidelines on Friday.
FollowFollowing the rising cases in the Delhi schools, the Delhi government has announced fresh guidelines for schools in the national capital, directing them to temporarily close the entire premises or specific wings if any students or staff test positive for Covid-19.
As per the Directorate of Education (DoE) direction, the students and staff have to wear masks and maintain social distancing to the extent possible. The advisory was dated April 13 and was introduced following the rising Covid-19 cases in the national capital.
As per the advisory, if any Covid case is discovered or reported to the school administration, the Directorate of Education must be notified promptly, and the affected wing of the school, or the entire school, as the case may be must be shuttered for the time being. It also includes wearing masks by students, teachers and other staff of the schools, maintaining social distance, regularly washing hands and using sanitisers.
On Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia stated that he instructed the education department to release rules in this regard on Friday, citing a 'slight' increase in Covid19 cases in the national capital.
Both the officials, CM Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Sisodia, have urged people not to panic. They have observed no changes in the number of hospitalisations and closely monitor the situation.
Sisodia stated that in the past days they had received reports from a few parents regarding their children being testing positive for Covid-19. The education department on Friday will release guidelines for schools regarding the same.
On Thursday, Delhi registered 325 fresh Covid-19 cases with a positivity rate of 2.39 per cent. From April 1, schools started functioning at full capacity in offline mode, however, cautioned against Covid rising cases in the Delhi Public school, Vasant Kunj and some other schools in Noida.
Physical classes have been temporarily suspended in schools in Noida and Ghaziabad due to an increase in Covid-19 instances in the 48 hours after more than ten students tested positive at a private school. Following the discovery of cases, two schools in Ghaziabad have switched to online classes.
The Delhi BJP urged that, given the increase in incidents, the government reinstate mandatory masks in public areas, including public transportation, schools, universities, and movie theatres.
Government officials also stated that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) would conduct a meeting on April 20 in response to an increase in Covid cases and may consider reintroducing the mask mandate.
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