E-Paper
Schools reopen for Class 10-12 students in Punjab on July 26
If the Covid situation remains under control, remaining classes shall be allowed to open from August 2
Schools will reopen for students of Classes 10, 11 and 12 in Punjab from July 26, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said while announcing further Covid relaxations, including the increase in the number of people in indoor gatherings to 150 and outdoor to 300, subject to a limit of 50% of the capacity.
Taking note of the decline in Covid positivity to 0.3%, with reproduction number (Rt) at 0.75 for Punjab (lower than the national average), the chief minister said schools will be allowed to open for Classes 10 to 12, but only those teachers and staff shall be allowed to be present who are fully vaccinated.
Also read: Sidhu returns to hero’s welcome with road show in Amritsar
“Physical presence of the students shall be purely on the consent of the parents and virtual classes shall continue. An undertaking to this effect shall be submitted to the deputy commissioners,” Capt Amarinder Singh said.
If the situation remains under control, the remaining classes shall be allowed to open from August 2, the chief minister announced, pointing out that the Cambridge University has predicted that cases shall further decline in the coming weeks.
On social gatherings, the CM said artistes and musicians shall be allowed at such functions/celebrations in all areas, with adherence to the Covid protocol.
The relaxations came days after the chief minister ordered the opening of bars, cinema halls, restaurants, spas, swimming pools, coaching centres, sports complexes, gyms, malls, museums and zoos at 50% capacity with vaccine compliance.
Colleges, coaching centres and institutions of higher learning were allowed to open with similar compliance earlier.
During a virtual review meeting of the Covid situation, Capt Amarinder Singh said that the month-wise whole genome sequencing has shown that more than 90% is a variant of concern i.e. the original virus has been practically replaced by variants, and the Delta variant remained predominant even in June. However, there were no new cases of the Delta Plus variant, he said.
