MP schools to remain open, operate with 50% capacity for now, says CM Shivraj Chouhan

In a bid to curtail the spread of the deadly coronavirus, several states have imposed strict COVID-related restrictions, including the closure of schools and educational institutions and limited market functions. The Madhya Pradesh government has announced that, at present, the schools would not be fully closed and continue to operate with 50 per cent capacity for all classes. The decision to suspend offline classes in the wake of the third wave of COVID will be taken soon.

MP schools to remain open for now says CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan

The MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the authorities are reviewing the situation and will soon come up with a final decision regarding the closure of schools in wake of the prevalling COVID situation across the state.

"Daily COVID cases are increasing fast in Madhya Pradesh. However, we are monitoring the situation carefully and further decisions on putting more restrictions on it will be taken according to the situation in the coming days. The increasing number of cases in Bhopal, Indore, and other districts is obviously a big concern for us, but the overall COVID situation in the state is under control. Schools with 50 per cent seating capacity will be allowed to continue till the next decision is taken after reviewing the situation, "Chouhan said.

On Monday, Chouhan chaired a review meeting to assess the situation in the state. COVID cases in Madhya Pradesh are on a steep rise and the majority of cases are reported from Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Ujjain, and Gwalior. At the review meeting, COVID-related restrictions were assessed by CM. 

In the wake of the rising cases of COVID-19, many states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha, have closed schools and imposed strict COVID protocols. Meanwhile, the vaccination drive for children aged between 15 and 18 has also been started, and over 2 crore children have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. In the last 24 hours, Madhya Pradesh reported a total of 2,317 fresh COVID cases on Monday, taking the total number of cases to 8,599 in the state. 

Image: PTI, Representative