Chennai: Even as the authorities are considering reopening schools for junior classes in Tamil Nadu, the spike in Covid-19 cases among school students has become a matter of concern for the state health and education departments. Is. Some teachers have also tested positive since the school reopened in the state on September 1.
A total of 34 students have tested COVID positive on Wednesday, taking the total number of students to 117, since the reopening of schools for classes 9 to 12 in Tamil Nadu from September 1.
However, Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Ambil Mahesh Poyyamozhi has said that the department has joined hands with the state health department and will stop the spread of the disease by taking adequate measures.
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The minister also said that the opening of classes for students of classes 1 to 8 would be done only after a review meeting with inputs from the state education and health departments on the ground-level situation across Tamil Nadu. He also said that a decision on this would be taken after the review meeting to be held on September 30.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had directed the state government to file a counter to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to stop physical classes in schools following the spike in Covid cases.
A parent from Tirunelveli, K. Abdul Wahabuddin had filed a PIL in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court for closure of physical classes as there has been a rise in Covid cases since the school reopened on September 1.
In the petition, he said the government’s direction on the permissible strength of classes was not being followed and called on the court to stop the physical classes.
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Justice M. Duraiswami and Justice K.K. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, appearing for Murali Shankar, directed the state government to file a counter-affidavit by September 30.
Meanwhile, 26 districts across Tamil Nadu, including Coimbatore and Chennai, on Wednesday registered a surge in new Covid positive cases. The number of cases reported on Wednesday stood at 1,658 while on Tuesday it was 1,591. This small increase in the number of COVID cases has alarmed health officials who are in the process of vaccinating the entire population with at least one dose of the vaccine.
(IANS. with inputs)
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