Coronavirus ‘second wave’: Gujarat suspends exams, offline classes in 8 cities; Ahmedabad extends night curfew

Gujarat, which is emerging as one of the Covid-19 hotspots in the country during Covid “second wave”, has decided to suspend all offline classes and ongoing examinations in eight major cities of the state. The state government had earlier suggested that schools should shift to online classes and conclude their ongoing examinations at the earliest, however, with the state registering a fourfold jump in Covid-19 infections in one month, the government has decided to completely shut all offline classes. All offline classes and exams have been suspended in eight cities of the state namely— Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, and Junagadh. As per the latest decision, the offline classes in these eight major cities of the state will remain closed from Friday till April 10, The Indian Express reported.

The universities and schools which were scheduled to conduct the exams during this period have been asked to postpone their exam schedule. While the government has completely shut the offline classes for school students and undergraduate courses students, the offline classes for the Post Graduate courses will continue along with practical sessions and college exams.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation going a step ahead has also ordered the closure of shopping malls and multiplexes during the weekends along with extending the night curfew by one hour. The night curfew in the city will come in force from 9 PM in the evening and last till 7 AM in the morning. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani headed the meeting of ministers and officials where the recent decisions were taken. Speaking at the occasion, CM Rupani said he saw no reason for the statewide lockdown and people should not fear a statewide lockdown. The past week saw a sudden jump in the Coronavirus cases in the state. While the state reported 675 cases on March 10, the tally jumped to 1,276 on Thursday.