Bhubaneswar, Aug 26 (PTI) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Wednesday announced that all educational institutions in the state till end of Durga Puja vacation in view of the prevailing pandemic situation.

The announcement was made by Patnaik after reviewing the situation due to COVID-19 in the state.

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Keeping in view the concerns expressed by students and parents, it has been decided to close schools and colleges till the end of Durga Puja holidays, Pataik said in a statement.

The five-day Durga Puja festival is slated to be held between October 22 TO 26.

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The Chief Minister said the decision has been taken to allay fears and apprehension in the minds of students and their guardians about the prevailing situation.

Educational institutions across the state have been closed since March 17, two days after the first coronavirus case was reported in the state, an official said.

Officials in the health and family welfare department said that as per a projection in the background of the prevailing situation, the states infection load is likely to reach 1.02 lakh with the number of active cases at 32,212 by August end.

Earlier in the day, the School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash had said that the state government will take a decision in regard to reopening of schools after the Centre releases guidelines for the month of September.

He said the government has meanwhile started online classes for students and conceded that 22 lakh of the total 60 lakh students in government and government aided schools can avail of the facility due to lack of proper internet connections.

The higher education department has started online classes for college and university students, an official said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)