The classwork in all govt & private primary schools of districts Srinagar, Bandipora, Budgam & Baramulla shall remain suspended with effect from March 9.
Srinagar: Amid a coronavirus scare, authorities in Kashmir on Saturday ordered the closure of all primary schools from March 9 in four districts of Kashmir – Srinagar, Bandipora, Budgam and Baramulla in the valley until further orders.
Principal secretary planning, development, monitoring and J&K government Spokesperson Rohit Kansal, tweeted: “All primary schools in Jammu and Samba districts of J&K to be closed till March 31 with immediate effect. All biometric attendance in J&K to be suspended immediately till March 31.”
“The order was issued in reference to the decisions taken in the meeting held on March 7 (Saturday) under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary J&K,” reads the order issued by divisional administration Kashmir.
Principal Secretary Planning and Development Department, RohitKansal who is also the spokesman of government said the classwork in schools has been suspended as a precautionary measure.
“As of now, no case of coronavirus has been found positive in Valley but we have closed schools as a precautionary measure to avoid large gatherings,” Kansal said.
Earlier, the School Education Department on Friday issued an advisory for all schools in Valley asking the school heads to take precautionary measures to control the outbreak of coronavirus.
“The advisory asked the students to wash their hands properly with soap or use an alcohol-based sanitizer. But no such facilities are available in schools which can increase chances of health risk among students,” said Muhammad Ehsan, a parent.
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Two suspected coronavirus patients who fled the Jammu government medical college and hospital on Wednesday after being quarantined, turned out to be ‘high viral-load cases’, forcing the Jammu and Kashmir administration to order the closure of all primary schools in six districts of the Union Territory (UT), including four in Kashmir Valley, on Saturday. Biometric attendance in all government offices across J&K shall remain suspended till March 31.
Jammu and Kashmir have been put on alert to deal with any threat emerging from COVID-19 as around 200 people with a travel history to coronavirus-hit countries or who had contacts with people from such countries have been identified.
Nearly two dozen suspected cases have been tested in the Union territory till date but no positive case has been reported so far.
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