COVID-19: Tamil Nadu shuts schools upto Class 9; imposes night curfew

NEW DELHI: To tackle the rising coronavirus cases, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday ordered closure of all schools upto Class 9. Physical classes will continue for students of classes 10, 12 considering board exams and vaccination drive, CM announced.

Also Read | Omicron, Covid-19 In India (Live): Colleges, schools closed in more states; vaccination continues

The state government has announced fresh curbs which include a state-wide night curfew between 10 pm and 5 am with effect from January 6. A shutdown would be enforced on Sunday (January 9) and only 50 per cent occupancy shall be allowed in buses, suburban trains, and Metrorail, the government said.

All government and privately organised harvest festival 'Pongal' and cultural events are postponed and entertainment and amusement parks would be shutdown, an official release here said.

Public would not be allowed in all places of worship on three days -Fridays, Saturday and Sunday- a week. The present bar for social, cultural and political congregations would continue to be in place.

Also Read | NEET PG Counselling 2021 Live Updates: Supreme Court to hear on EWS, OBC quota tomorrow

Considering the spike in COVID-19 cases, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday ordered the closure of all schools up to Class 10 till January 15 and extended the night curfew by two hours. The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on a day the state reported 992 new infection cases. Currently, no UP district has more than 1,000 coronavirus cases.