The West Bengal government on Monday announced the closure of all government-run schools in the state till further notice in view of the spiralling COVID-19 numbers. The state, which is in the middle of 8-phase elections, recorded more than 8,000 cases in the past 24 hours. 

Making the announcement on Monday, Education minister Partha Chatterjee said that the schools will remain shut from Tuesday, April 20, 2021, till further notice.

He further added that the government has also announced early summer vacation for all government-run schools starting from May 7, 2021, reported ANI.

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As per the health ministry data released on Sunday, West Bengal has reported 6,59,927, with the highest single-day spike of 8,419 fresh infections. The total number of death due to COVID-19 in West Bengal is 10,568.

The closure of schools comes days after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded that the remaining three phase of the 8-phase election in the state be conducted in one go.