Puducherry, March 19: The territorial administration has ordered closure of all schools for classes I to VIII from March 22 till May 31. The holiday is applicable to all schools adopting either the state board or CBSE or ICSE pattern of curriculum.

The step has been taken in view of the sudden spike in number of COVID-19 cases in the Union Territory, a press release from Director of School Education P T Rudra Goud said here on Friday. The closure has also been decided in response to the suggestion the high-level vaccine committee had given for closure of institutions at its meeting on March 18, Goud said. Lockdown in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur on March 21 as COVID-19 Cases on Rise.

The committee headed by Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Tamilisai Soundarajan reviewed the pandemic situation in Puducherry and ordered closure of the schools, he said. Classes for IX, X and XII would, however, be conducted for five days (Monday to Friday) a week, he added.

(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)