Haryana declares summer vacation in schools till May 31

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government on Wednesday announced summer vacation in schools till May 31, amid surging COVID-19 cases in the state.

“The schools will remain closed on account of summer holidays from April 22 to May 31,” state education minister Kanwar Pal Wednesday said in a tweet.

Earlier this month, the state government had decided to close schools till April 30 for students up to class 8, but later they were shut for all classes in the wake of a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

However, teachers had been attending schools to prepare examination results.

“Teachers have been regularly coming to schools. Along with the safety of the children, safety of the teachers is also our responsibility, so the summer vacations have been declared in advance,” the minister said.

Another record daily spike, 9,623 test +ve

The state recorded the biggest daily jump of 9,623 coronavirus cases and 45 fatalities that pushed its infection tally to 3,81,247 and the death toll to 3,528, a health department bulletin said.

Among the districts that reported a big spike in cases are Gurgaon (2,988), Faridabad (1,339), Sonipat (960), Karnal (548), Hisar .

4,970 fresh infections in Punjab, 69 dead

Punjab on Wednesday reported another record spike of 4970 Covid cases, breaking the previous high of 4957 infections witnessed on April 18.

With 69 more fatalities, the death toll in the state climbed to 8,114, according to a bulletin released by the state government.