COVID-19: Kerala allows parents of children with disabilities to work from home

NEW DELHI: The Kerala government has issued an order directing both government and private institutions in the state to let parents of children with disabilities to work from home, due to the surge in Covid cases in the state. That such children may require assistance, especially while attending classes in online mode, prompted the decision.

According to a Twitter post by R Bindu, higher education minister of Kerala, one parent of a child with disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy, or any other mental or physical challenges, can work from home.

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In view of the rise in Covid cases across the state, the government is issuing an order directing employers to provide 'work from home' option to parents of children with disabilities. The order is applicable to both government and private institutions. pic.twitter.com/96iJ2s1MlV

— Dr R Bindu (@rbinducpm) January 25, 2022

“Previously, the ‘work-from-home’ option had been made available to pregnant women and mothers with children under the age of two. This is now being extended to parents with mentally and physically challenged or neurodivergent children,” said R Bindu.

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Kerala Covid cases

Schools were closed recently in Kerala for two weeks for Class 1 to Class 9 as per a decision taken at a high-level Covid review meeting led by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. According to Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty, offline classes have been suspended in Kerala schools, not because of the surge in COVID-19 cases among school students, but as a precautionary step due to the increasing Covid cases in Kerala.

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Kerala registered 26,514 new Covid cases with 171 fatalities as of today. There are 2,60,271 active coronavirus infection cases in the state currently, as per the Kerala government dashboard for Covid.