New Covid variants: Bangladesh to keep schools closed until May 22

The government has extended again the ongoing closure of all primary schools and kindergartens of the country till May 22, to protect the students from the new variants of the novel coronavirus. 

The students will stay at home during this time and continue online education activities, said a letter from the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education on Sunday.

The notification further said that the students have to abide by the health guidelines and regulations issued by the Ministry of Health and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

However, the parents will have to give their children safe accommodation and the local administration will monitor it closely. 

In addition, the headmasters of the concerned schools will ensure that their respective students are studying their textbooks at their place of residence, through the parents.

Previously the Education Ministry had declared that they would open the educational institutions at the end of this month, but the recent surge of Covid-19 cases led them to reconsider the decision.

Health experts fear that a highly transmissible variant of the deadly virus that might have appeared in Bangladesh through mutations is behind the sudden upsurge in coronavirus cases.

In the last few days the daily Covid-19 cases have been above 3,500 with deaths rising significantly too.

In the 24 hours till Sunday, 3,908 people have been infected with Covid-19 while 35 died of the disease.