Alerted by rising COVID cases, BMC directs schools in Mumbai to discontinue 50% attendance rule
Additionally, the civic authorities had recently ordered cinemas, hotels and restaurants in the city to operate at 50% capacity.
Alarmed by the soaring numbers of COVID cases in Mumbai, schools in the city have discontinued the mandatory 50% attendance rule from March 17. Aligning with this, the teachers have been advised to work from home and conduct online lectures for the students till the situation eases. Additionally, the civic authorities had recently ordered cinemas, hotels and restaurants in the city to operate at 50% capacity, given the renewed acceleration of COVID numbers.
BMC's step to ensure the safety of teaching & non-teaching staff
#CoronavirusUpdates 17-Mar, 6:00pm #NaToCorona https://t.co/hqI5yWVrb4— माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC)1615990791.0
Despite the rising cases in Mumbai, the schools were functional at 50% rotational attendance of teachers and other staff with online classes being conducted from the school premises. Taking cognisance of the current circumstances, the BMC's decision ensures the safety of teaching and non-teaching staff. Till the orders are recalled, teachers would hold virtual classes using e-learning platforms from their homes.
Informing about new detections of 2,377 COVID positive patients, BMC warned the citizens and asked them to be precautious through its Twitter account on Wednesday. While Mumbai had 267 sealed buildings on Wednesday, 34 locations in slums and chawls have been designated as containment zones to arrest the spread of the virus. Though the relative growth of COVID cases was 0.48% during the past week(10-16 March), the absolute number of the spike is dangerously high. Keeping a view on the situation at hand, BMC is leaving no stone unturned to block the contamination.
Surging COVID tallies in Mumbai & Maharashtra
With a confirmed cumulative of 3,49,974 COVID-affected individuals registered on Thursday, Mumbai continues to be one of the most troubled metropolitan cities in the country. On the same day, the count of active cases stood at 15,410 with net fatalities moving up to 11,551. Not just the capital city but other districts in Maharashtra have also witnessed sudden spikes, taking the total tally of active cases in the state to 1,52,760 on Thursday.