The government has again extended the closure of secondary and higher secondary level educational institutions until May 29 due to the recent spike in Covid-19 infections. The decision was taken considering the safety of students, teachers and staffers after consultation with the National Advisory Committee on Covid-19, said an official release signed by M A Khair, public relations officer of the Education Ministry. During the closure online classes will continue, it said. Earlier, the government decided to reopen schools and colleges on May 23 and the Education Ministry issued a notice in this regard. Also read: Covid-19: Ongoing lockdown to be extended until May 23 The government shut educational institutions on March 17 last year after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8. The closure was extended several times, most recently until May 23 this year. On February 22 the education minister announced that university classes would resume on May 24. Residential halls were scheduled to be reopened on May 17. Also read: Schools, colleges to reopen on May 23 Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh Covid-19 claimed 22 more lives in Bangladesh in the past 24 hours until Saturday morning which is the lowest daily deaths in nearly two months. The country saw 26 Covid deaths on Friday and 31 on Thursday. With the latest deaths logged today, the official Covid-related death count in the country reached 12,124. However, the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.55%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Also read: Covid-19: 22 more lives lost, lowest daily deaths in 7 weeks The country witnessed a sharp drop in the number of new cases as the tests have declined dramatically. Only 261 infections were logged in the last 24 hours after examining 3,758 samples during the period. The number of daily cases has been decreasing since the beginning of May, falling below 2,000.

The government has decided to reopen schools and colleges on May 23 due to the recent spike in Coronavirus infections in the country. The Education Ministry issued a notice in this regard on Thursday. The decision was taken considering the safety of students, teachers and staffers and during the closure online classes will continue, the notice said. Classes in all primary, secondary and higher secondary level educational institutions were scheduled to resume on March 30. Also read: Schools, colleges likely to remain closed until Eid: Dipu Earlier in the morning Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said the schools and colleges are likely to remain shut until Eid-ul-Fitr vacation if the recent spike in Coronavirus infections continues. “The closure of primary, secondary and higher secondary level institutions is likely to be extended until Eid-ul-Fitr like the universities if the coronavirus cases continue to rise. A decision in this regard will be taken later after a meeting with National Technical Advisory Committee formed to fight COVID-19,” she said.  The government shut educational institutions on March 17 last year after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8. The closure was extended several times, most recently until late March this year. On February 22 the education minister announced that university classes would resume on May 24. Also read: Covid-19: Educational institutions reopening may be delayed Residential halls were scheduled to be reopened on May 17. Covid-19 claimed 35 more lives and infected 3,587 others in the past 24 hours till Thursday morning amid an alarming spike in cases over the past few weeks in Bangladesh. The coronavirus fatalities rose to 8,763 with the latest figure while the new cases pushed the total infections to 580,808, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 3-month high 34 deaths; 3,587 fresh cases With the fresh 3,537 cases, Bangladesh has seen the worst daily increase for the second consecutive day since July 15, 2020. The free movement of people ignoring the health protocols is believed to be the reason behind the recent upsurge in cases. 

Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam on Monday said time has not come yet to reopen the educational institutions of the country.