• Source:JND
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New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Friday decided to reopen all schools, colleges and coaching institutions in the national capital. As per the guidelines issued by the DDMA, schools for classes 9th to 12th will reopen from February 7, while classes for nursery to 8th will begin February 14 in a phased manner with strict adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour. 

Colleges in the national capital will reopen from February 7 and will be asked to encourage offline classes instead of online classes. However, the hybrid model of online and offline classes will continue.

"Schools will reopen from 7th Feb for std 9-12. Classes for Nursery to std 8 will reopen from 14th Feb. Hybrid classes will continue. Colleges will reopen from Monday, 7th Feb & they'll be asked to discourage online classes & have offline classes", Manish Sisodia said. 

Apart from educational institutions, the DDMA also reduced the Delhi night curfew timings by 1 hour. Now, the night curfew in the national capital will start from 11 pm and will continue till 5 am. Earlier, the night curfew in Delhi was imposed from 10 pm till 5 am. 

In its key meet, chaired by Delhi LG Anil Baijal, the DDMA also decided to allow private offices to operate with 100 per cent capacity with strict adherence to COVID protocols. Amid the demands of the gym owners, the DDMA has also decided to allow gyms and swimming pools in the national capital to reopen with certain restrictions. 

Following the observations of the Delhi High Court, the DDMA has also decided to exempt single drivers in cars from mandatory wearing face masks. The DDMA has also permitted all bars and restaurants to remain open till 11 pm.  

Delhi on Thursday reported 2,668 fresh COVID-19 cases and 13 more deaths, while the positivity rate dropped to 4.3 per cent. With this, the national capital's case count increased to 18,38,647 and the death toll climbed to 25,932.

The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching the record high of 28,867 on January 13. The city had recorded a positivity rate of 30.6 per cent on January 14, the highest during the ongoing wave of the pandemic. It took just 10 days for daily cases to drop below the 10,000-mark.