SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, April 25: Keeping in view the rising COVID-19 cases in some states of the country, the Jharkhand School Education and Literacy Department on Monday asked schools to suspend morning assembly, cultural programmes and sports activities.
The School Education and Literacy department of Jharkhand has issued fresh COVID-19 guidelines for schools in the light of rising COVID-19 cases in some states.
Notably, reports of coronavirus infections from schools have sparked concerns, weeks after they opened for offline classes, following a two-year gap due to the pandemic. Schools across the state have been asked to adhere to appropriate COVID guidelines following a surge in infections and an alert has been issued for the safety of students.
As per the new guidelines, schools have been asked to conduct health checkups on a regular basis in coordination with the nearest health centres and district administrations have been directed to ensure random COVID-19 tests of students and teachers.
The School Education and Literacy Department secretary Rajesh Kumar Sharma in a letter to all deputy commissioners, district education officers and district superintendents of education, has asked them to follow COVID-19 guidelines in a bid to restrict the spread of the disease.
Expressing concern, the secretary has said that an increase in the infection rate of COVID-19 has been seen in many states of the country for the past 15 days, which is worrying.
At such a time, it is imperative to ensure all necessary initiatives are at the priority level to prevent the infection of COVID-19 in the state-run schools.
“The Covid-19 cases are increasing in many states and the situation requires caution. The SOPs issued by the Disaster Management Authority should be followed strictly at the time of re-opening of schools,” the secretary said.
It is mandatory for the teachers and staff members to wear masks inside the school premises and no morning assembly gatherings, cultural or sports events will be permitted to contain the spread of the infection. As per the latest guidelines, teachers, mess staff, and other faculty have been asked to take both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Arrangements for vaccination of students between the ages of 12 and 18 should be made in coordination with the health department. The schools have been asked to sanitise school premises, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and others with a 1 percent sodium hypochlorite solution before the beginning of educational activities and complete sanitization of the institution every 15 days.
According to the health department bulletin released on April 23, there are a total of 21 active COVID-19 cases in Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand health minister Banna Gupta said, “On account of the rising Covid infections in Delhi, we need to ramp up testing and take all the necessary precautions. Passengers will have to undergo thermal scanning at airports, railway stations and other public places to check the spread of infection.
