Nearly a dozen Indian states have imposed a partial lockdown in high-risk areas after spikes in coronavirus cases, with the country’s infections topping 900,000 just three days after crossing the 800,000 mark.
India joins a number of countries and cities across the globe in reimposing localised lockdowns and other restrictions in the face of new outbreaks of the disease that has infected more than 13 million worldwide.
In all, India has more than 936,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, with 28,498 new infections reported on Tuesday, according to data from the federal health ministry, the third-highest total in the world behind Brazil and the United States.
Schools partially reopen in Malaysia
After almost four months of absence, some students from the secondary and primary levels have returned to school in Malaysia, as the country’s coronavirus cases have significantly dropped.
During the lockdown in mid-March, students were forced to study at home as part of the effort to contain the spread of the deadly disease that infected more than 8,700 people, and claimed the lives of 122 others. More than 8,500 of the patients have recovered.
State news agency Bernama quoted Senior Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin as saying that the decision to re-open “is seen as timely to motivate students to follow the learning process in schools”, given the constraints students and teachers face with online classes.
Schools and students are required to follow some safety protocols at school to help avoid the spread of the disease, the education ministry said.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies
