Covid: J&K schools to remain shut till April 18

Srinagar, April 4

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Sunday announced that all schools for students up to Class IX would remain closed for two weeks from April 5 in view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the union territory.

“Physical classes for students from Classes X to XII will also be suspended for a week,” Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s office said in a tweet on Sunday.

This comes days after the Jammu and Kashmir administration asked all district magistrates to take a call on the continuation of physical classes in schools amid a spike in cases in the union territory.

“In view of rising trend in #Covid-19 cases in J&K & likelihood of young children getting infected & transmitting infection in large numbers, ALL classes up to & including Class 9 in schools will be closed for 2 weeks in all schools beginning on Monday, 5 April till 18 April, 21 in J&K,” Sinha’s office tweeted.

Schools for students of Classes X, XI and XII will also be closed for a week, it said.

“Further, all gatherings for social and customary functions will be restricted to 200 persons,” it added.

Covid-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir have shown an upward trajectory over the last few weeks. The union territory had recorded 501 fresh cases on Saturday.

Several schools in many districts were shut in the last few days after many students and teachers tested positive for Covid-19. — PTI

6 Jammu GMC students test positive

Jammu: Six students of Government Medical College (GMC) in Jammu tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, a spokesperson said. The students, including five girls staying in hostels, tested positive for the infection during a special rapid antigen test (RAT) drive. He said the GMC, Jammu, conducted tests for staff and students in view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the union territory. “Isolation of all Covid positive students has been arranged at the Maternal Child Hospital (MCH), Gandhi Nagar, Jammu,” the spokesperson said, adding the hostel premises have beem sanitised. He said the GMC management has decided that the RAT tests would be done periodically. PTI