Karnataka advances exams for students of classes 1-9 after first COVID-19 case in state

Education

The exams for class 10 will be held as per schedule since it is a public examination.

Prajwal Bhat

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The Department of Public Instruction on Monday advanced the examination schedule in schools across Karnataka, except in Bengaluru. The exams for classes 1 to 5 will be held between March 11 and 16 while examinations for classes 6 to 9 will end before March 23. The exams for class 10 will be held as per schedule since it is a public examination. The decision to advance exams for primary and high school students in the state was taken after a techie in his 40s, who returned from Austin, Texas in the US, tested positive for the coronavirus in Bengaluru. This is Karnataka's first case of coronavirus. "In all remaining working days, students will be reminded of the precautions to be taken to stop the spread of the virus during the morning prayer," reads a circular issued by the Department of Public Instruction. The circular added that students will be allowed to write exams wearing masks. The decision was taken during a meeting on Monday which was attended via video conference by all Deputy Commissioners in the state. This is part of efforts from the state government to ensure students stay home and do not come in contact with the virus. Meanwhile, an indefinite holiday was declared for students of classes 1 to 5 studying in schools in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural. Earlier, students in kindergarten and playschool were asked to stay home. The Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar on Monday announced the first case of coronavirus in the state. Health authorities in the state are now tracing as many as 2,666 people the techie may have come in primary or secondary contact with. Teams were dispatched to trace contacts at his residence, workplace and on the flights he travelled in to India. Along with tracing contacts, passengers at the Bengaluru International Airport and Manglauru International Airport are being screened. A total of 91,911 passengers have been screened including 61,585 passengers in Bengaluru and 25,003 passengers in Mangaluru. 5,323 passengers at the Mangaluru and Karwar seaports were screened. 982 people have been identified for observation.

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