Schools in THIS state shut from today due to rise in COVID-19 cases

In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, the state government has ordered to close schools for students of classes 9, 10 and 11 from Monday (March 22).

In an order, state Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan said, "The government of Tamil Nadu hereby order that schools shall be closed for classes 9th, 10th and 11th with effect from March 22 until further orders.”

However, classes will continue to functions for students of class 12 as they have to appear for board examinations but by strictly following all the safety protocols. The board exams will be conducted in accordance with the standard operating procedures for COVID-19.

The director of public health and preventive medicine said class 12 students may be allowed to attend school as they would be less in numbers and they have to appear for the board examination with strictly adherence to preventive measures such as wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing.

According to the order issued by the state government, classes for grade 9, 10 and 11will be conducted in online or digital mode.

Hostels must also be closed and students should return to their homes, the government order said.

Meanwhile, public examinations for students belonging to other boards will be allowed, along with special classes being held for them, and hostels will also will be kept open for these students.

Tamil Nadu's health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said on Friday that a large number of cases were family clusters of those who attended functions, events, rather than a widespread outbreak. He also added that the micro-containment zone would be established in case there were three cases in a single block or apartment complex and that detailed contact tracing and testing of contacts would continue.

Since late 2020, Tamil Nadu had been witnessing a decline in COVID-19 cases and by end of January, the state had eased almost all restrictions and returned to normal, as the daily cases were well below the 400-mark on average.

On Friday (March 19), COVID-19 cases crossed the 1,000 mark in Tamil Nadu, with 1,087 fresh cases getting reported from across the state. The tally of active cases stood at 6,690 as against 4,009 cases on March 1.