Schools, colleges closed in Delhi amid spike in Omicron cases: All you need to know

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Amid surging cases of Omicron variant, the Delhi government, on December 28, announced the closure of schools, colleges and other educational institutes with immediate effect.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) declared a "yellow alert" amid a spike in COVID-19 cases and positivity rate.

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Key things to know about closure of schools and educational institutes in Delhi:

> Under the "yellow alert", schools, colleges, training and coaching institutions as well as libraries are to remain shut.

> The Directorate of Education (DoE) later clarified that in addition to online classes, examinations and related activities such as practicals, projects and assignments for classes 9 to 12 would be conducted according to schedule.

> School administration is also allowed to function for CBSE registration work, examinations and other related activities, including project and assignments.

> Schools and colleges in Delhi have faced frequent closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic and spiralling pollution levels.

> Schools were allowed to reopen from December 18 for students above class 6, after being closed due to alarming pollution levels in Delhi. The government had earlier also announced that physical classes for students up to class five can begin from December 27.

> The DDMA's decision to shut schools has evoked mixed reactions from parents, school principals and education experts.

> Delhi Parents Association (DPA) president Aprajita Gautam said the constant shutting and reopening of schools has a "deteriorating" effect on the mental health of students. "We have all witnessed the total failure of planning and execution from the government this year. Schools constantly closing and reopening has had an undeniably deteriorating effect on students' mental health," Gautam said, as quoted in a PTI report.

> The yellow alert, which comes under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), was sounded after Delhi reported the biggest single-day spike in COVID-19 infections in over six months with 331 new cases, pushing the positivity rate to 0.67 percent.

> The national capital has also reported the maximum number of Omicron cases in India at 238, according to the health ministry's latest update. India has so far detected 781 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 21 states and UTs.