The Haryana government on Friday closed down all schools in the state till November 30 after more than 180 schoolchildren and over 110 teachers tested positive since the institutions opened a fortnight ago.
The school education department directed the district education officers to ensure sanitisation of all schools.
Haryana education minister Kanwar Pal Gurjar, meanwhile, clarified that no such decision has been taken for college students and those going to coaching centres to prepare for competitive and other exams.
The health department collected samples of students for testing from Sonepat, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Jind and Jhajjar districts.
Students in Rewari, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar and Rohtak districts have been found infected so far.
Dr Sanjay Dahiya, chief medical officer, Jhajjar, said most of the teachers and students contracted the infection during Diwali festival as they must have ventured out.
“The government has taken a good decision by shutting down the schools for next 10 days. The virus chain will break and schools will likely reopen from December 1. We have witnessed a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths in the past one week. We urge the people to tread with caution. Most of the infected students are asymptomatic,” he added.
He said the report of 423 students, whose samples were taken from five schools, is expected to be out late night.
{{/usCountry}}He said the report of 423 students, whose samples were taken from five schools, is expected to be out late night.
{{/usCountry}}The health department has also collected samples of 362 students from three schools in Hisar, report of which will be declared by Saturday evening.
1.62 lakh students attend school
As many as 1.62 lakh students of classes 9 to 12 attended the school on Friday, which is highest since the state government reopened schools on November 2.
Rewari, which leads the tally of Covid-19 students, registered 49% attendance after Mahendergarh, where 55% students came to school on Friday.
Palwal and Fatehabad each recorded 45% attendance each, followed by Kaithal at 43%. Gurugram schools logged 22% attendance, while 29% students attended schools in Panchkula.