Haryana govt declares summer vacation in schools till May 31

The Haryana government Wednesday announced summer vacation in schools till May 31, amid surging Covid-19 cases in the state.

"The schools will remain closed on account of summer holidays from April 22 to May 31," Haryana’s Education Minister Kanwar Pal Wednesday said in a tweet.

Earlier this month, the state government had decided to close schools till April 30 for students up to class 8, but later they were shut for all classes in the wake of a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

However, teachers had been attending schools to prepare examination results.

"Teachers have been regularly coming to schools. Along with the safety of the children, safety of the teachers is also our responsibility, so the summer vacations have been declared in advance," the minister further said.

Also read: In biggest spike so far, India logs 2.95 lakh new Covid-19 cases, over 2,000 deaths

Haryana has witnessed a sharp increase in coronavirus cases over the last three weeks.

On April 20, the state had recorded 7,811 new cases in its biggest single-day spike so far, while 35 people had succumbed to the disease.

The number of active coronavirus cases in the state is currently over 50,000.

Gurgaon, Faridabad and Sonipat districts, all in the National Capital Region, have seen a steep jump in new cases, while other areas such as Panchkula, Karnal and Kurukshetra have also added to the surge.