Odisha Covid cases: Odisha withholds decision to reopen schools for Classes 1 to 5

BHUBANESWAR: Amid a sharp rise in Odisha Covid cases, the Odisha government on Sunday said that it was withholding its decision to reopen schools for students of Classes 1 to 5 from Monday. School and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash, in a statement, said the decision was taken after officials visited various primary schools across the state and held discussions with the stakeholders.

"Keeping in view the rise in the number of daily cases and based on the feedback provided by parents across the state, we have decided not to reopen schools for students of Classes 1 to 5 from January 3," he stated.

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Odisha schools were scheduled to open on January 3 as per the directions of the chief minister. Physical classes were planned to be resumed in about 27,000 schools in Odisha. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also instructed the state officials to take precautions as a possible third wave of COVID-19 might come. This statement from the minister came after the detection of the Omicron cases in the state.

Dash, however, maintained that physical classes for students of classes 6 to 10 will continue for now. He also said that offline examination, as scheduled earlier, will be conducted adhering to COVID-19 protocols. Odisha on Sunday registered 424 more coronavirus cases. Sixty-seven of the new patients are children below 18 years of age.

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