Fresh COVID Guidelines Issued For Students Opting For Offline Classes In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Amid a rise in infection rate in the age group of 0-18 years, the Odisha government has again issued guidelines on COVID appropriate behaviour for school students opting for offline classes.

While the infection rate had spiralled to 20 per cent in the state on Monday with 122 of 609 new cases being children and adolescents, it dropped to 14.5 per cent (93 of 638) on Tuesday.

Physical classes are currently being conducted for students of IX, X, and XII.

Here are the guidelines issued by SME Secretary Satyabrata Sahu:

>> No mask, no entry

>> Social distancing to be meticulously followed in classrooms and the COVID Monitor (preferably the PET of the school) should be extra vigilant to ensure it.

>> Mild symptoms, no entry

>> Thermal screening at the entrance

>> Sanitisers at the entrance point

>>  Both online and offline teaching will continue and no student should be forced to come to school. Attendance in offline classes is not mandatory. 

The expenditure incurred for COVID Management should be met out of School Improvement Grant released from OSEPA. Any deviation will be viewed seriously by the department, he added.

On Tuesday, the Health Department had appealed to the parents to consult the doctors if they detect symptoms in the kids after 34 students from two high schools in Dhenkanal and Bargarh districts were found infected.

The second wave of the pandemic has claimed the lives of 39 children and adolescents in the state with 13 deaths reported between August 10 and 31.