Schools in the state will reopen on November 1. A decision to this effect was taken at the high-level Covid review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday. While school-based classes for standards 1 to 7 (primary section) and 10 and 12 will begin on November 1, other classes will begin on November 15.
"It is advisable to take the position that children with weak immunity do not have to attend schools. The arrangements to be made when transporting children in vehicles need to be discussed. Steps should be taken to restore the school health program. Precautions should be taken to prevent the spread of the disease when schools reopen. Special masks should be prepared for children," the CM said.
The state government had already decided to reopen colleges and other higher education institutions from October 4. Final year degree and post-graduate classes would begin initially.
It was also announced that lockdown will be imposed in local bodies with Weekly Infection-Population Ratio (WIPR) of 10 and above. Earlier, the criteria for lockdown was a WIPR of 8 and above. No more antigen tests will be allowed in private labs.
A drive would be initiated to identify those above the age of 65 who were yet to get vaccinated and vaccinate them.
Meanwhile, as many as 19,235 fresh Covid cases were reported in the state on Saturday. The total number of active cases in the state is 1.80 lakh.
