Delhi govt implements MHA guidelines on schools; staff members to resume duty from Sept 21

In consonance with the MHA guidelines, the Delhi government on Friday extended the closure of schools in the national capital until September 30. Online teaching shall continue to be permitted. From September 21, students of Class 9 to 12 can visit their schools in non-containment zones for taking guidance from their teachers with the written consent of their parents or guardian.

Moreover, schools must call 50% of the teaching and non-teaching staff at a time to schools in non-containment zones for online teaching, tele-counselling, and related work beginning September 21. The staff members should not leave the city without prior permission and be available for duty as required. These directives will be applicable for both government-aided and private unaided schools. With 2914 new cases reported in the day, Delhi's COVID-19 tally surged to 1,85,220.

Read: COVID-19: Delhi Records Highest Spike In Cases In 69 Days; Death Count 4,513

MHA unveils unlock guidelines

While unveiling the Unlock 4 guidelines, the Ministry of Home Affairs extended the lockdown in the containment zones across India till September 30. While metro rail services have been allowed to operate from September 7, gatherings with a ceiling of 100 persons and open-air theatres can recommence from September 21. Higher educational institutions can reopen for research scholars and post-graduate students of technical and professional courses requiring laboratory/experimental works. Most importantly, the MHA clarified that states can no longer dilute these guidelines and may impose local lockdown only after prior consultation with the Centre. 

Read: 'Can't Say It Is A Second Wave': Delhi Health Minister On Recent Spurt In COVID-19 Cases

Novel coronavirus crisis in India

Currently, there are 39,36,747 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in India out of which 30,37,151 patients have been discharged while 68,472 fatalities have been recorded. At present, there are 8,31,124 active cases. With 66,659 persons recovering from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the country's recovery rate soared to  77.15%%. The number of recovered persons outnumber active cases by more than 22 lakh. The case fatality rate stands at 1.74%.

In the last 24 hours, 11,69,765 samples were tested for COVID-19 across the country. So far, India has conducted 4,66,79,145 novel coronavirus tests. The number of labs for COVID-19 testing has increased to 1631- 1025 in the government sector and 606 in the private sector. 

Read: Doctor, Aide Arrested For Giving Forged COVID-19 Test Reports To People In Delhi