The Karnataka government will take a call on reopening of schools in Bengaluru on January 29, Education Minister BC Nagesh said on Friday, January 21, after a meeting with the COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee. Talking to reporters, he said that barring Bengaluru, schools will continue to operate across the state.
"We are considering one school as a unit. Assistant commissioners, district health officers and the tehsildars will take a call on closure of schools in other parts of the state. If fewer COVID-19 cases are reported, that particular school will be closed for three days, if the numbers are more, the school will be closed for seven days," he explained. As far as Bengaluru is concerned, since the positivity rate is higher, the decision on reopening of schools will be made on January 29. However, the positivity rate among children in the age group of 6 to 15 years is less in the state, he said.
"Among the 5,33,104 students in the age group of 6 to 15 years who tested for the coronavirus, the positivity rate is 5.94%. Six districts have a positivity rate of 9% or more and in 13 districts, it is less than 5%. Bengaluru Urban has a positivity rate of 14.12%, while it is 8.84% for Bengaluru Rural," he stated.
On Friday, after the meeting, the Karnataka government decided to lift the weekend curfew that was in place with an aim to control the spread of COVID-19 infections. "The weekend curfew on Saturday and Sunday is being lifted. This decision has been taken based on the experts' report and subject to conditions. Now, the rate of hospitalisation is about 5%. In case it increases, we will re-impose the weekend curfew," Revenue Minister R Ashoka said.