The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has said the decision on reopening schools in the state will be taken after consultation with experts and assessment of the COVID-19 situation.
The state government had ordered the closure of schools and hostels for grades 1 to 12 on Jan. 14 until Jan. 31 in the wake of a spate of COVID-19 cases at the time.
The CM, while assessing the COVID-19 situation in the state on Saturday, said that COVID-19 cases were emerging in the state, including major cities like Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur and Gwalior.
“Very few corona patients are admitted to hospitals. The decision on opening schools will be made after considering the COVID-19 situation in other states… experts will be consulted. Schools will only be opened after full deliberation,” Chouhan said.
There is a possibility that COVID-19 cases will decline by Feb. 15, he said. While nothing is wrong, the administration should continue to adopt COVID-19 appropriate behavior and the mandatory requirement to wear masks, the CM said.
Health officials informed at the meeting that 72 COVID-19 patients were currently being admitted to oxygen beds, while 150 were being admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in the state.
On Saturday, Madhya Pradesh reported 8,678 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the number of infections in the state to 9,50,134, while five other deaths took the toll to 10,607, a health department official said earlier.
