Covid death fallout: schools, colleges shut in Karnataka
Kalaburagi (Karnataka): All schools and colleges in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi’s city have been shut for a week a day after an old man’s death was confirmed to be due to coronavirus disease, an official said on Friday.
“We have directed all schools and colleges in the city to shut classes for a week, but not put off exams, as a safety measure and prevent the students from being affected by Covid-19 symptoms,” Kalaburagi deputy commissioner B. Sharat told IANS.
Kalaburagi is 575km north of Bengaluru in the southern state.
Though the victim died on March 10 (Tuesday night) at a private hospital in Hyderabad, about 230km east of Kalaburagi, his infected body was brought here and buried on Wednesday as per the government guidelines.
“We have also cancelled the ‘Sharana Basaveshwara jathra’, a religious fair, in which thousands of people participate by joining the chariot procession in which the deity of the 12th century Lingayat seer is taken across the city on Friday,” the IAS officer said.
The police have stepped up vigil at check-posts on the border with surrounding districts in the state’s northern region and neighbouring Maharashtra in the west.
“As a precautionary step, we are regulating movement of people and vehicles from other districts in our state and neighbouring states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to prevent the spread of the disease,” added Sharat.
