Mumbai schools to stay shut till December 31 due to COVID-19: BMC

A staffer sanitising a classroom in a Panvel school

The schools in Mumbai under the jurisdiction of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will remain shut till December 31 due to COVID-19. They were to open on November 23.

"The decision has been taken in the wake of rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai. The schools will not reopen on November 23," Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said.

Meanwhile, schools in other cities of the state can reopen as per schedule, an official said. "Schools in other parts of the state can be reopened from November 23 if local conditions are favourable," said the senior official from the school education department.

If there are no cases or very few infections, then local authorities such as municipal commissioners or district collectors are empowered to reopen schools, he added.

Also Read: Mumbai: Schools Reopen From November 23, Here Are The SOP's

On November 10, the Maharashtra government had issued a notification to reopen schools from November 23. The notification read that students of standards IX to XII will go to schools, which are to be operated as per COVID-19 protocols. Along with schools and their hostels, state-run residential schools for tribal students (ashram shalas) and hostels for international students were also be reopened on the same day.

The number of cases in Maharashtra continued to rise with 5,535 new cases on Thursday taking the total tally up to 17.63 lakh, while the number of COVID-19 related fatalities went up to over 150. Mumbai's daily count also increased to more than 900 cases even as the number of COVID-19-related casualties indicated a drop.

Also Read: COVID-19: Mumbai's Cases Count Rises But Casualties See A Fall

The state health department officials reported that among the fresh cases, Mumbai took the lead with 924 cases. In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, while Thane had 272 new cases, all other districts had less than 200 cases each.

The state's recovery rate increased to 92.79 per cent and while 5,860 patients were discharged, 1,192 patients were discharged in Mumbai after a full recovery. Mumbai's recovery rate showed improvement as it increased to 92 per cent while the doubling rate dipped to 310 days.

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