Schools in Delhi to remain shut till October 31 due to COVID-19

Delhi schools will remain closed until October 31, confirms the Education Minister, Manish Sisodia, on Sunday, October 04, 2020. The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier passed the orders for schools to reopen after October 15. However, educational institutions' authorities and state governments can choose to either reopen the schools or continue with online classes."All schools in Delhi will remain closed till October 31 due to Corona. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that as a parent, he understands the seriousness of the situation. At this time it will not be appropriate to take any risk regarding the health of children," Mr Sisodia tweeted. The Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has welcomed this decision of the Home Ministry and asked other parties to not make it a political issue as it may impact the precious time of the students negatively.

दिल्ली में सभी स्कूल कोरोना के कारण अभी 31 अक्तूबर तक बंद रहेंगे. मुख्यमंत्री @ArvindKejriwal ने कहा है कि एक अभिभावक होने के नाते वे परिस्थिति की गम्भीरता को समझते हैं. इस समय बच्चों के स्वास्थ्य को लेकर कोई ज़ोखिम लिया जाना उचित नहीं होगा.

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) October 4, 2020

The move comes after an assessment of the Covid-19 situation in the capital. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the city reported 3,037, 2,920 and 2,258 cases, respectively. overall, Delhi has reported 287,930 cases and 5,472 fatalities. The decision on schools came even as the central government on September 30 issued new guidelines allowing more relaxations of Covid-19 restrictions as part of its plan to resume businesses and activities in the country struck by the pandemic. Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as part of measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. On March 25, the central government announced a nationwide lockdown to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. As per the latest unlock guidelines, schools, colleges and other educational institutions can reopen outside containment zones after October 15. However, the decision on whether to reopen educational institutions has been left with states and union territories.