COVID-19 : Arunachal Pradesh allows vaccinated students to attend school for offline classes

ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh government has permitted vaccinated teenagers to attend physical classes in schools as it extended COVID-19 restrictions in the state till February 14 with certain modifications. According to the latest government order, physical classes will be allowed for those students who have taken the first dose of the vaccine. Schools have been told to function with not more than 50 percent occupancy in well-ventilated classrooms.

All government and private schools in Arunachal Pradesh were closed till January 31, as per an order from the government. Universities, colleges and technical institutions were advised to regulate the timing of their classes with 50 percent attendance and adherence to COVID protocols.

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According to the new order issued by chief secretary Naresh Kumar, all workplaces, businesses and commercial establishments would be allowed to operate till 8 pm with 50 percent attendance. Night curfew will be imposed after 9 pm and continue till 5 am, as was the case earlier. Visitors have been disallowed in government offices for now and meetings, if possible, will be conducted on virtual platforms. Additionally, all public servants will have to submit their vaccination certificates in their respective offices, the new order stated.

Bars, restaurants, gyms, swimming pools, cinema halls, and auditorium would continue to operate at 50 percent occupancy. Weekly markets would remain suspended for the time being, the order said, adding that mass and religious gatherings and events in indoor or closed spaces will be allowed for vaccinated individuals, provided the occupancy at the venue does exceed 50 percent.

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Covid cases in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh, on Monday, registered 129 new COVID-19 cases, which raised the tally to 324, a senior official said. The toll in the northeastern state remained unchanged at 286 as no casualty was reported in the past 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said. Altogether, 58,848 people have recovered from the disease so far, including 324 in the past 24 hours, Jampa stated. Of the 129 new cases, 66 were registered in the Capital Complex Region, 13 in Lohit and 10 in Papumpare. While 107 new cases were detected through rapid antigen test, 19 were done with RT-PCR and three via TrueNAT, Jampa said. Arunachal Pradesh currently has 2,948 active cases. A total of 12,36,736 samples have been tested in the state so far, 550 of them on Sunday, Jampa stated The positivity ratio dipped to 23.45 percent from 25.54 percent the previous day, the SSO added. According to State Immunisation Officer Dr Dimong Padung, as many as 15,75,054 people have been inoculated with anti-COVID vaccines thus far.

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