The Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government on Wednesday (August 4) decided to reopen schools and coaching centres partially from Saturday (August 7) under the Unlock 5 guidelines as COVID-19 cases are under control in the state.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took to Twitter to announce that schools for classes 9 to 12, colleges, universities and even coaching institutions have been allowed to reopen in the state from August 7 with 50 per cent capacity. The crisis management committee will assess the situation and is most likely to open schools from Class 1 to 8 after August 15.
The crisis management committee, in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, formulated certain guidelines under `unlock 5`, including making schools operational with 50 per cent attendance of students above class 9 from August 6.
The state government has also allowed coaching centres to be open for students above Class 10. A Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) was issued on Wednesday and everyone is expected to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. Educational institutions to ensure proper sanitisation of the area and classrooms for the safety of all.
कोरोना संक्रमण में कमी को देखते हुए दिनांक 07 अगस्त से 25 अगस्त तक सभी दुकानों को साप्ताहिक बंदी के साथ खोलने का निर्णय लिया गया है। नौवी से दसवीं कक्षा 7 अगस्त से एवं पहली से आठवीं कक्षा 16 अगस्त से खुलेगी। (1/3)
— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) August 4, 2021
The official notification also mentions that Kasturba Gandhi Girls Residential School and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Residential School and Karpuri Hostels will also be allowed to reopen and accept admissions.
Apart from schools, cinema halls, theatres, and malls are also allowed to operate from August 6, at 50 per cent of their actual capacity.
The state government has, however, not allowed religious places to open yet.
According to the Health Department, corona cases have reduced drastically with the PMCH having not a single infected patient. The IGIMS, the NMCH and Patna AIIMS have collectively 16 patients -- 12 in the IGIMS and two each in the other two.
(With IANS inputs)