Schools, colleges closed in Goa till Jan 26 amid surge in Covid-19 cases

Schools and colleges in Goa have been closed for physical sessions, in wake of the rising COVID-19 cases across the country.

Authorities held a meeting of the COVID-19 Task Force on Monday to review the situation in the state.

A member of Task Force, Dr Shekhar Salkar said to ANI, "After the meeting of the COVID Task Force, it has been decided to close physical sessions for classes 8 and 9 till January 26. Students of classes 10 to 12 have to come only for the vaccination. Colleges will also remain closed till January 26."

"The night curfew will be from 11 pm to 6 am. The Task Force will meet again a few days before January 26, to review the situation and decide the future course of action," he said.

In the wake of a rise in COVID-19 cases in the coastal state, the Goa government on Monday imposed a night curfew in the state. The curfew will be in place from 11 pm to 6 am until further orders.

The Goa government has also decided to close schools and colleges till January 26. The decision was taken by state Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the Task Force's meeting on COVID-19 on Monday.

Last week, Goa also reported its first case of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus on Monday after an eight-year-old boy who arrived in the state from the UK on December 17 was found to be tested positive for the Omicron variant in the state.