Manipur to shut down schools till July 24 amid upsurge in COVID-19 cases  

The Manipur government has ordered closure of all schools till next week due to the recent surge in coronavirus cases. 

According to an official notification, the schools were scheduled to reopen after the summer vacation, i.e., on July 16. However, the concerned decision has been undertaken, after taking into account, the recent increase in absolute number of COVID-19 positive cases and the test positivity rate crossing 15%.

All schools – government, state-aided, private schools affiliated to other boards, will be closed with immediate effect till July 24 in public interest, the order stated. 

“And whereas, the children below 12 years of age are yet to be vaccinated, thus increasing their vulnerability to get infected by COVID-19 significantly,” – the order further reads.

Taking to Twitter, the Manipur Chief Minister – N. Biren Singh wrote “With the increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases in the state in the past few days, the Government of Manipur have directed all schools of the state to remain closed till the 24th of this month.”

With the increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases in the state in the past few days, the Government of Manipur have directed all schools of the state to remain closed till the 24th of this month. pic.twitter.com/GzniHZw5qf

— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) July 12, 2022

The Directorate of Health Services in the State said Manipur also witnessed 15 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

The cumulative cases in the state now stand at 66,135 while the state has seen 57,264 recoveries.

A total of 2,120 people have succumbed to COVID-19 so far in the state. The positivity rate stands at 15.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, India recorded 13,615 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of coronavirus to 4,36,52,944. While the death count climbed to 5,25,474 with 20 new fatalities in the last 24 hours.

The active cases increased to 1,31,043, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The active cases comprise 0.30 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.50 per cent, the Ministry said.

An increase of 330 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.