Fake tweet in CM Himanta Biswa Sarma name over school closure alarms government

GUWAHATI: A fake tweet, bearing the name of Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stating that schools and colleges in the state would be closed again from November 20 in view of the rising Covid cases, created confusion in academic circles on Wednesday.
Sarma immediately asked the police to take note of the tweet and act through his official Twitter handle. “A FAKE tweet bearing my name is circulating saying that since cases of #COVID19 have gone up schools & colleges are being closed down from Nov 20. This is WRONG & should not be heeded to. Stay off misinformation and fake news!” Sarma tweeted.
Cases of Covid infection were reported from some schools after the resumption of offline studies. Sources in the education department, however, claimed that the number of infected students, teachers and non-teaching staff in schools and colleges has been ‘less than 20’.
The fake tweet reportedly posted on November 1 said since Covid-19 cases are increasing in Assam at a fast rate, the education department and the government have decided to close down schools and colleges from November 20. On October 31, positive cases crossed 300, the tweet mentioned.
TOI reached out to several senior officials of the state, including director of elementary education, but they refused to reveal the actual number of active cases related to educational institutions. In Assam, many parents are still not sending their children to primary schools, though in secondary and higher classes, the attendance has improved over the last few weeks.
Principal secretary to the education department, B Kalyan Chakravarthy, said Covid infection has not spread to the campuses and is confined to a few cases only. “Deputy commissioners of all districts have been instructed that within one hour of any infection being reported in schools, I should be informed about the details. As of today, the situation is under control,” he said.
Two government schools in Guwahati were put under containment last week after multiple Covid-positive cases were reported. Restrictions will be withdrawn from both the schools after one week on Thursday.
Kamrup (Metro) inspector of schools (IS), Prasanna Bora, said since then there has been no surge in Covid cases in Guwahati schools. "We appeal to the guardians to keep monitoring the activities of their children. They should not send any student with Covid symptoms to school,” said Bora.