COVID-19 scare: Haryana extends lockdown for two more weeks, online classes in residential universities to continue till October 15

The Haryana government order read, "The Mahamari Alert-Surakshit Haryana is extended for another fortnight, that is from September 6 (5 am onwards) to September 20 (till 5 am)."

File Photo

New Delhi: Amid third COVID-19 wave threat, the Haryana government on Sunday (September 5) extended the lockdown by a fortnight, while allowing the existing relaxations to continue. 

The state government also modified its earlier order of reopening of institutes and ordered the vice-chancellors of residential universities to continue with the online classes till October 15, PTI reported. 

The order by Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan read, "The Mahamari Alert-Surakshit Haryana is extended for another fortnight, that is from September 6 (5 am onwards) to September 20 (till 5 am), along with guidelines to be implemented during this period issued vide earlier orders.”

A decision on resuming physical classes in residential universities shall be taken on October 15 after assessing the prevalent COVID-19 situation, the order added. “Meanwhile, university administrations may strive to ensure to get all students, faculty members and staff, including the outsourced ones, fully vaccinated and share the progress with the Department of Higher Education, Technical Education and Medical Education and Research, as the case may be,” Vardhan said in the order. 

Although, students can visit universities and colleges for doubt classes, practical classes in laboratories, practical and offline examinations with strict adherence to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. Besides, hostels in colleges and universities are allowed to open only for the students appearing for examinations.

In an earlier order, vice-chancellors of universities were asked to chalk out a plan for the reopening of universities from the next academic session and share the programme with Haryana government's department concerned.

Haryana logged nine new coronavirus infection cases and two more fatalities that took the infection count to 7,70,543 and the death toll to 9,683, according to the health department's daily bulletin on Saturday. 

(With PTI inputs)