Maharashtra Covid Cases: Offline sessions closed for Classes 1 to 8 in Aurangabad till Jan 31

AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation has decided to shut offline sessions for classes 1 to 8 till January 31 to avoid crowding and contain the spread of coronavirus infection here in Maharashtra. But, physical sessions for students of classes 9 to 12 are permitted, the civic body said in a release on Wednesday.

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The district administration has also decided to close resorts and farmhouses in rural areas here. Also, in cases where COVID-19 infected people want to avail the facility of home isolation, it is mandatory that their family members should be fully vaccinated, Aurangabad Collector Sunil Chavan said in a release. The leaves of government employees and semi-government staffers have also been cancelled, it said. The decisions to check the spread of COVID-19 were taken after a meeting of the district task force members and medical experts on Wednesday. As per the release, hospitals in the district are instructed to conduct COVID-19 tests of patients undergoing surgery.

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The family members of a COVID-19 patient in home isolation should also remain quarantined at home, it said. Video recordings will be done in hotels to prevent crowding, the release said, adding that the administration has also decided to ban 'Hurda' parties (gatherings held by people in the winter season every year in rural areas). As per the release, those managing party halls will have to give a written assurance that the number of attendees during a function will not be above 50. They have also been instructed to inform about upcoming bookings at their function halls, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ujwala Bankar said.

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On Wednesday, the district reported 120 new cases of coronavirus and two fatalities, taking the infection tally to 1,50,159 and the death toll to 3,658. So far, 1,46,229 have recovered from the disease, while there are currently 272 active COVID-19 cases in the district, as per official data.