Coronavirus: More states shut down schools to battle pandemic

NEW DELHI: Amid the coronavirus scare, more states have announced the closing of schools on Friday.

Bihar government has shut schools till March 31, 2020. However, the Class 10 and Class 12 ICSE and CBSE exams will be conducted as per the schedule.To prevent large gatherings, public places like cinema halls, early childhood centres called anganwadis and parks have also been closed in Bihar. Punjab is shutting schools till March 31 as well, the Chief Minister's Office has announced.

Schools in Madhya Pradesh have been closed indefinitely until further notice but the exams will be held on the scheduled dates. Following suit, Karnataka government has also closed down schools and colleges of the state for a week starting from March 14, 2020. B H Anil Kumar, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner, tweeted the announcement on Friday evening.

To prevent the spread of #coronavirus & communicable diseases, Karnataka Govt has decided not to allow gathering at public places like pubs, clubs, malls, theatres, schools, colleges, summer camps, swimming pools, stadiums, marriages etc for a week from tomorrow.#BBMP #Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/rR54GFWiOS

— B.H.Anil Kumar,IAS (@BBMPCOMM) March 13, 2020

As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen to 81 on Friday. Before these announcements, eight states and Union Territories had already shut schools for varying periods of time.

Stop public gatherings

According to The Business Standard, an official statement issued by the principal secretary of Madhya Pradesh’s School Education Department, Rashmi Arun Shami, said all private and government schools are to observe holiday temporarily till the next order. The official social media account of the chief minister also reiterated that holidays have been declared for schools.

नोवल कोरोना वायरस का संक्रमण रोकने के लिए स्कूल-कॉलेजों में अवकाश घोषित।

परीक्षाएं यथावत रहेंगी, सिनेमा हॉल भी बन्द होंगे

मप्र में नोवल कोरोना वायरस से निपटने के लिए पुख्ता इंतजाम किए गए

मुख्यमंत्री श्री कमल नाथ ने की तैयारियों की समीक्षा

Read More : https://t.co/8PlWPSY6A1 pic.twitter.com/SK9pF9wn2J

— CMO Madhya Pradesh (@CMMadhyaPradesh) March 13, 2020

Bihar Diwas, generally celebrated on March 22, has been postponed as well. Addressing the press, Deepak Kumar, chief secretary of Bihar said “We are planning to celebrate Bihar Diwas in the month of April,” Hindustan Times reported. In addition to this, The Hindustan Times reported that Haryana has also shut schools in certain districts including Sonipat, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Faridabad and Gurugram. Finally, the Asian News International reported that Maharashtra is discouraging public gatherings in general at certain locations.

States like Uttarakhand, Manipur, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh also closed schools. As a result, more than 6 crore children have been confined to home.

On Saturday, Tamil Nadu government declared holiday students from KG to 5th standard in the districts of Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Kanniyakumari, Theni, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi, Deccan Herald reported.

In Telanagana, all educational institutions, shopping malls, cinema halls and public places has also been closed down from Saturday night up to March 31, Livemint reported.

Update: This copy has been updated to include more recent announcements.

Also read:

• Coronavirus: Over 6 crore children at home as states close schools
• Coronavirus: After DU and IIT Delhi, JNU cancels classes till March 31

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