Delhi School Reopening News: For the unversed, normal classes in the city were briefly resumed before being closed again on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant.
New Delhi: In the wake of significant drop in COVID cases, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday allowed schools, colleges, and other educational institutions to resume offline classes from Monday, February 7. As per the DDMA order, classes 9 to 12 can be reopened in a staggered manner, however, unvaccinated teachers will not be permitted inside the premises. Notably, normal classes in the city were briefly resumed before being closed again on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant.
The decision to reopen schools was taken by the DDMA in a high-level meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal. For the unversed, normal classes in the city were briefly resumed before being closed again on December 28 last year in view of the third wave of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant.
Check DDMA’s New Guidelines For Reopening of Schools
- Schools to open in a phased manner.
- Schools for classes 9th-12th to reopen from Feb 7.
- Teachers who aren’t vaccinated will not be permitted.
Earlier on Thursday, the Narendra Modi-led Centre had issued revised guidelines for the reopening of schools, colleges and other educational institutions. The Centre, after detailed discussions, issued a number of Covid-19 protocols for reopening educational institutions that can be adapted as needed by States and Union Territories as per their overall Covid situation.
Centre’s School reopening guidelines:
- Maintain social distancing at all times in the staff rooms, office area, assembly hall and other common areas.
- Flexible, staggered and reduced timings for different classes.
- Ensure and monitor proper cleaning and sanitation facilities in the school premises.
- Maintaining at least 6-feet distance between students (in the seating plan) in school premises.
- Schools are advised not to undertake any school events where social distancing will not be possible.
- All students and staff must come to school wearing a face cover/mask and continue wearing it throughout the day.
- Social Distancing must be maintained during the distribution of the Mid-Day Meal, under PM Poshan, as students will need to take their masks off.
COVID-19 Situation in Delhi
The number of active coronavirus cases in the national capital has registered a fall of over 60 per cent in the last one week. On January 26, the daily cases tally had stood at 7,498 with a positivity rate of 10.59 per cent, and 29 deaths were registered. The active cases tally on that day was 38,315 while the cumulative death cases had stood at 25,710, as per official data. On February 2, the daily cases tally came down to 3,028 while the positivity rate slipped to 4.73 per cent, and 27 deaths were registered. The active cases tally on that day had fallen to 14,870 while the cumulative death cases had stood at 25,919.
So, 210 fatalities have been reported in the last one week, as per official figures, while the active cases count has reduced by a margin of about 61 per cent. However, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss further relaxations in COVID-19 curbs, including reopening of schools, in view of the declining cases in the national capital.
The number of daily cases in Delhi had reached a record high of 28,867 on January 13. The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic.
