The Gujarat government on Thursday imposed additional restrictions including closure of schools and colleges, cancellation of exams scheduled for college students and closing of malls / shopping plazas and multiplexes on weekends amidst rising COVID-19 cases in the second wave.
The state recorded 1,276 cases on Thursday and caused three deaths as the second wave of the epidemic, with alarming numbers of new infections in cities such as Ahmedabad and Surat.
In Ahmedabad and Surat, civic bodies have also increased nighttime curfew from 9 am to 6 am, while public transport bus services have been stopped and all public parks, gardens to prevent people from gathering. And gyms have been closed. Infection is on the rise.
Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said, “All schools and colleges in eight municipal cities have been closed from March 19 to April 10.”
The decision to close schools and colleges was taken at a high-level meeting, with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani holding a meeting with top bureaucrats to prepare the administration to deal with the growing cases.
Also, university examinations for undergraduate and graduate level will be scheduled between March 19 and April 10 and new dates of examination will be announced by the universities.
For postgraduate students, examinations, off-line classes and practicals will be conducted offline across the state.
The state government has deputed top officials to oversee COVID-19 related efforts by civic bodies in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, where tests have been extended to isolate people carrying the virus.
Meanwhile, according to data from the state health department on the vaccination front, 24,13,350 people have been given the first dose and 5,67,671 people have been given the second dose of the vaccine.
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