Delhi Schools Unlikely To Reopen Until Vaccine Against COVID-19 Available, Says Manish Sisodia

Schools in Delhi which are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic are unlikely to reopen until a vaccine is available, Deputy Chief Minister & Education Minister Manish Sisodia said on November 24. Universities and schools across the country were closed on March 16, when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as part of measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. He had announced on October 30 that schools will remain closed until further orders, saying parents were not in favour of sending their ward to schools yet. Delhi has been battered by a relentless surge in fresh cases over the past few weeks. The city has added over one lakh since November 1 and an average of over 6,000 per day in the past week. This comes after experts said winter, festive seasons and worsening air quality (because of the burning of farm wastes) would lead to a jump in infections. Delhi has recorded over 5.40 lakh COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began in December last year. Of these, more than 8,500 are deaths linked to the virus.