COVID Second Wave: Odisha Minister’s Clarification On Reopening Of Schools In November

Bhubaneswar: With Odisha staring at a possible COVID-19 second wave next month, the decision on reopening schools across the state this month has been put on hold,  School and Mass Education Minister Sameer Dash informed on Friday.

“The possibility of a second wave of COVID-19 during winters cannot be ruled out. So schools will not reopen as of now and continue to be closed till further orders,” he said.

Only two days ago, the minister had told the media that the SOP was being prepared for resuming classes in school across the state.

This followed the state government’s announcement of Unlock 6.0 guidelines, allowing for starting the process of reopening schools for Class IX to XII in a graded manner after November 15. However, all academic institutions will remain closed till November 30.

Notably, Andhra Pradesh saw 262 students and 160 teachers contracting the virus in the past three days after schools reopened on November 2 for Class IX and X.