Schools, colleges in Himachal to remain closed till Nov. 25

By Choekyi Lhamo

DHARAMSHALA, Nov. 13: Schools, colleges and other educational institutes in the state of Himachal Pradesh will remain closed till Nov. 25 after the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state, reported the Timesnownews. The decision was taken on Tuesday during a meeting chaired by CM Jai Ram Thakur. The state government ordered a ‘special vacation’ for students and staff at all government and public educational institutes. 

The report said that about 125 government school teachers had so far tested positive and the institutions posed a high risk of spreading infection among the community. It then decided to close all educational institutions for a fortnight from Nov. 11 to 25. 74 percent of parents had favoured reopening of school and college institutions but only 30 percent attendance was recorded. 

The state government decided to reopen the schools from Nov. 2 but since the schools and colleges opened last week, the cases of the coronavirus were reported in alarming numbers.

More than 90 cases of Covid-19 among students and staff at a TCV school in Jogindernagar, Mandi was reported earlier last week. The educational institutions were only recently opened after a series of lockdowns imposed in the state since March to check the spread of the coronavirus.