Schools closed in J&K as Covid-19 cases witness surge

Amid a huge rise in Covid-19 cases in recent days, Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday decided to close all schools for two weeks in the Union Territory (UT).

While schools up to 9th standard will remain closed for two weeks from April 5, students of class 10th, 11th and 12th will stay away from schools for one week from tomorrow.

“In view of the rising trend in Covid-9 cases in J&K and the likelihood of young children getting infected and transmitting infections in large numbers, all classes up to and including class 9 in schools will be closed for two weeks beginning Monday, April 5 till April 18 in J&K. Classes 10, 11 and 12 will also be closed for one week in all schools from Monday till April 11 in entire J&K,” office of J&K LG announced on its official Twitter handle.

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Besides, all gatherings for social and customary functions have been restricted to 200 only after following guidelines and Covid-19 SOPs.

Schools in Kashmir valley almost remained closed for the 19-months, first on account of lockdown imposed after revocation of J&K’s special status in August 2019 and subsequently due to Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Schools had reopened only in a phased manner from March 1.

For the past few days, there had been a surge in Covid positive cases in schools across Kashmir forcing the administration to take a call to close the educational institutions yet again. The spike in the Covid-19 cases reported from schools had made parents anxious about the safety of the students attending classes in schools.

On Saturday, J&K recorded over 500 Covid-19 positive cases for the second consecutive day in a row. The number of cases is rising at a rapid pace. In just four days into the month of April J&K has recorded close to 1800 cases.