Maharashtra Govt May Close Schools If Omicron Cases Rise: Minister
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government may close schools in the state if the number of patients infected with the Omicron COVID-19 variant continues to increase, state School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said on Wednesday.
Schools in Maharashtra reopened fully only on December 1.
“If Omicron cases continue to rise, we may take a call to shut the schools again. We’re monitoring the situation,” Gaikwad said, according to news agency ANI.
https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1473528343156781061?s=20
Physical classes for schools in the western state resumed on the first day of the month to standards 1-7 in urban areas and 1-4 in rural areas. After this, physical lectures for students of classes 8-12 in urban areas and for students of classes 4-12 in rural areas resumed on October 4.
Maharashtra has so far detected at least 65 cases of Type B.1.1.1.529, of which 11 were confirmed on Tuesday. Of the fresh infections, four were detected during surveillance checks at the Mumbai airport. The city has the highest number of 30 omicron cases in the state, followed by Pimpri-Chinchwad (12) and Pune (10).
The remaining patients, meanwhile, were found in Satara and Osmanabad (three each), Kalyan-Dombivli (2) and one each in Buldhana, Nagpur, Latur and Vasai-Virar.
Nationally, at least 213 cases of the Omicron variant has been reported thus far, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday. These have been reported from 15 states and Union territories.
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