Schools in Karnataka to reopen in two phases, says CM Bommai

Schools for classes 9 to 12 will start in alternate batches from August 23, with each batch attending classes three days a week, said Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommbai after a meeting with experts.

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday announced that the state government has decided to reopen schools in two phases, reported news agency ANI. Schools for classes 9 to 12 will start in alternate batches from August 23, with each batch attending classes three days a week, said Bommai after a meeting with experts.

The decision about reopening of schools for up to Class 8 will be taken in the last week of August. (PTI)

The meeting over coronavirus disease (Covid-19) was attended by Dr Devi Shetty, Dr Manjunath, Dr Ravi, Dr Sudarshan, the health department and the education department. The newly-appointed Karnataka CM said that the present Covid-19 situation, positivity rate and Centre’s guidelines were discussed during the meeting.

The decision about reopening of schools for up to Class 8 will be taken in the last week of August after looking at all aspects of a possible third Covid-19 wave.

“All this is what the experts suggested. Covid-19 task force will be formed soon,” ANI quoted Bommai as saying.

While night curfew will be imposed throughout the state from 9pm to 5am, the night and weekend curfew will continue as is in districts bordering Kerala and Karnataka, according to the latest announcement. Bommai said that the state government has directed the police to strictly monitor the curfew.

On Thursday, Karnataka reported 1,785 new Covid-19 cases and 25 related deaths, indicating a sustained increase in the number of daily infections. The Karnataka government has made negative RT-PCR mandatory for people arriving from Maharashtra and Kerala irrespective of their vaccination status.

(With ANI inputs)