Do not force government to impose lockdown, says Chief Minister Stalin
The Hindu
In a recorded video clipping, the Chief Minister said, “People should not become a reason [for the spread of COVID-19] themselves by crowding [public places]. I strongly request you all not to force the government to impose restrictions.”
Reiterating that the public must comply with all restrictions imposed by the Tamil Nadu government to control the spread of COVID-19, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday urged them not to force the hand of the government to impose strict lockdown restrictions. In a recorded video clipping, the Chief Minister said, “People should not become a reason [for the spread of COVID-19] themselves by crowding [public places]. I strongly request you all not to force the government to impose restrictions.” Since vaccination was the best weapon available against the pandemic, Mr. Stalin reiterated that people take both doses of the vaccine. “We are exhausting the vaccines being given by the Union government. We are also additionally procuring vaccines. The number of vaccines given by the Union government in phases is not sufficient. But we are providing vaccines to the people as they come,” he said.Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.