New Delhi, October 4: All schools in Delhi including both government and private schools, will continue to remain closed for students till October 31, 2020, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Sunday. The decision has been taken in the wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases. Earlier, on September 18, the Delhi government had announced that all schools in the national capital would be closed till October 5. However, online teaching and learning activities will continue as usual. The announcement cleared the air about speculation around the partial reopening of schools in Delhi in the wake of fresh guidelines by the Government. COVID-19 Tally in India Crosses 65-Lakh Mark With a Spike of 75,829 New Cases in Past 24 Hours, Death Toll Rises to 1,01,782.

The Delhi government had said that school principals are authorised to call "staff as per requirement for smooth conduct of online classes or any other work". All universities and schools across India have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide shutdown as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.

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In Unlock 5, the Centre had asked the States and union territory governments to decide on reopening schools, colleges, and other educational institutions in a graded manner after October 15. In its 'Unlock 4' guidelines, the government had given a go-ahead to reopen schools in a few states from September 21, 2020. The Delhi government has significantly ramped up testing in the past few days.

In Delhi, the COVID-19 tally mounted to over 2.87 lakh on Saturday with as many as 2,258 fresh cases. The death toll in the national capital mounted to 5,472 with 34 new fatalities on Saturday, a bulletin issued by the Delhi health department said. On Saturday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that the COVID-19 situation in the city is far better now as compared to September and the daily cases have also begun to show a downward trend.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 04, 2020 01:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).