Focus shifts to awareness programmes amidst surge in rate of infection
The Hindu
A week-long COVID-19 awareness programme was launched in the district, in line with the initiative launched by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin. A few districts were reporting an increase in cases and as m
A week-long COVID-19 awareness programme was launched in the district, in line with the initiative launched by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin. A few districts were reporting an increase in cases and as majority of the people were not complying with COVID-19 protocol, due to which such an initiative was necessary, authorities here said. District Collector S. Sivarasu flagged off a special van with audio-visual displays which would travel to vantage points in the city and create awareness. He also insisted that the public should follow masking, frequent handwashing, maintaining physical distancing and avoid crowding. Taking the COVID-19 vaccine was the only way to protect oneself from the ill effects of the virus, he added.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.