Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that all schools will be shut for students up to class 8 till April 11 across the state amid rise in COVID-19 cases. The state government had previously shut schools for students up to class 8 till March 31.
The Chief Minister made this announcement during a review meeting at his 5-Kalidas Marg residence. Teachers will, however, continue to report for administrative work during this period while no educational activities will take place.
Yogi Adityanath has also directed officials to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination programme in the state and increase the capacity of COVID-19 hospitals. India's most populous state has reported over 6.22 lakh COVID-19 cases till April 3, i.e., Saturday with 2,953 cases in the last 24 hours. Out of these, over 5.99 lakh people have recovered from the contagion with 782 recoveries on Friday.
Uttar Pradesh has 14,073 active COVID-19 cases and 2,155 cases were reported in the last 24 hours. The state's death toll due to COVID-19 reached 8,836 with 16 fatalities in the last 24 hours.
Uttar Pradesh is not the only state to shut schools due to the rise in COVID-19 cases. Karnataka government has also suspended in-person classes for students of classes 6-9. Students from classes 10-12 can attend in-person classes but it is not mandatory.
Edited by Mehak Agarwal; with PTI inputs