COVID-19: All schools, hostels in Ladakh's Leh district closed till April 30 - check details

In view go of the rising cases of COVID-19, the Ladakh administration on Saturday (April 17) announced that all schools including residential hostels and schools in Leh district shall remain closed for all classes with immediate effect till April 30.

This decision comes on a day when Ladakh has recorded 245 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike this year, pushing the virus caseload to 11,709, as per a health bulletin.

Out of the 245, 236 cases were reported in Leh and nine in Kargil, taking the total number of active cases in the Union Territory to 1,363.

Since the outbreak of the virus last year, Ladakh has reported a total of 132 COVID-19 related deaths out of which 88 were in Let and 44 in Kargil.

Schools in Ladakh had resumed for classes 6 to 9 on March 30, after a year of remaining shut due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, Shrikant Suse, the chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Leh, on Saturday (April 17) chaired a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in the district.

As per officials, it was informed that 86 per cent of the new cases in Leh reported this month were labourers who have come from outside for work.

Suse has urged Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the Contractors Association Leh to ensure COVID protocols are strictly where the labourers are risiding or isolating while adding that all medical facilities must be provided to them.