Closure Of Schools: States Shut Schools, Colleges Amid Spike In COVID Cases, Looming Omicron Scare

Schools Closed News: Several Indian states have announced the closure of schools, colleges, and educational institutions amid a sudden spurt in the COVID cases and a looming scare of Omicron - a variant of coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has reported 58,097 fresh COVID-19 cases and 534 deaths in the last 24 hours culminating on the morning of January 5 (Wednesday), with active cases standing at 2,14,004 and 2,135 cases of Omicron being reported.

Given the sudden and rapid surge in coronavirus cases and the spread of the COVID Omicron variant, State governments across the country have announced the closure of schools, colleges, and academic institutions to contain the spread of the pandemic.

State-wise Schools Closed News

Here is a State-wise update on the closure of schools owing to the pandemic.

UP Schools Closed

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced the closure of schools up to Class 10 in the state till January 15, 2022 to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic and its variants in the densely populated state. However, there is no update on the closure of colleges in the states

Mumbai And Pune Schools Closed

With Mumbai facing 15,000 COVID cases, 80% of which related to Omicron, the BMC has announced the closure of schools from Class 1 to Class 9 and Class 11 till the end of this month i.e. January 31 while Pune has schools closed for Classes 1 to 8 till January 30. Other regions in the State of Maharashtra too may witness such closures in the days to follow.

Haryana Colleges Closed

The Haryana Higher Education Department has called for the closure of colleges and all universities till January 12 this month in the wake of an increase in the COVID cases across India. The Haryana government has also announced that vaccination drive of children in the age group of 15 to 18 by January 10 to be carried out by the State Health Department.

Karnataka Schools And Colleges Closed

Schools and colleges in Karnataka will remain closed for two weeks starting from January 6 with an exception to Class 10, 12, Nursing, Medical, and Paramedical colleges in the State which saw a spike in the COVID-19 cases. Schools and PU colleges will remain shut tomorrow in Bangalore.

Bihar Schools Closed News

Schools in the state of Bihar from Classes 1 to 8 will shut unconditionally until further notice. However, higher classes, beginning from Class 9 and colleges will function with 50 percent strength.

Jharkhand Schools And Colleges Closed

Schools and colleges in the state of Jharkhand will remain shut till January 15 of this month to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and its Omicron variant in the region. Schools and colleges in the state have remained shut for about 12 days now.

Punjab Shuts Schools, Colleges

Punjab has closed the schools and colleges till January 15 of this month to control the spread of the pandemic. The State government has imposed various restrictions along with a night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am every day till January 15, 2022 like several other states in the country to arrest the growing threat of the COVID pandemic.

Chhattisgarh Schools Closed News

The Chhattisgarh government has called for the closure of schools amid increasing COVID cases, but with a slight variation. Schools in the State will be shut only in those areas/localities having a 4% or more COVID positivity rate with complete lockdown being the last resort.

Telangana Schools And Colleges Closed

The government of Telangana has announced the closure of schools and colleges in the State from January 8 to January 15 owing to an increase in the COVID-19 cases. Schools and colleges in the State will switch to online classes from offline mode. The State is also carrying on the vaccination drive of children in the age group of 15-18 years.

Delhi Schools Closed News

Schools in the national capital have remained shut from January 3 unconditionally till further orders. Delhi has reported 464 Omicron cases as on January 5.

West Bengal Schools Closed News

The West Bengal government has shut schools and colleges in the state until further orders starting from January 3. It has also imposed a night curfew and placed restrictions on large gatherings.

Tamil Nadu Schools Closed News

Joining the list of States who have closed schools, the Tamil Nadu government too has suspended offline classes for students of Class 1 to Class 8 with an exception to higher classes, from 9 to 12 to be continued with revised COVID-19 guidelines.

Goa Schools And Colleges Closed

Schools and colleges in Goa have been closed. The physical classes will remain suspended for students of classes 8 to 9 till January 26 of this month. While students of classes 10 to 12 are required to visit the school for the purpose of vaccination only.