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IMPHAL, India (LifeSiteNews) – The chief education minister in the Indian state of Manipur ordered a state-wide closure of all schools, whether government-run or private, apparently owing to a recorded rise in local COVID-19 infections.
Manipur Education Commissioner H. Gyan Prakash issued his directive on July 12, ordering school to remain closed until July 24 as part of the summer holiday schedule, two weeks after they were originally slated to reopen.
With the increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases in the state in the past few days, the Government of Manipur have directed all schools of the state to remain closed till the 24th of this month. pic.twitter.com/GzniHZw5qf
— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) July 12, 2022
The commissioner’s mandate noted that “a recent increase in absolute number of COVID-19 positive cases” formed part of the reason behind his decision to keep children out of school an extra two weeks, adding that “the test positivity ratio” has surpassed the state’s 15 percent threshold, after which the government has vowed to implement supposed virus containment measures.
Notably, no new deaths owing to the novel virus were recorded.
Additionally, Prakash wrote that since children under 12 years of age are yet unable to receive a COVID-19 shot in India, they apparently have an increased “vulnerability to get infected by COVID-19 significantly,” later chalking up his ruling to “health and safety.”
In addition to the small proportion of COVID-positive individuals within Manipur, children are among the least susceptible to illness with the novel coronavirus, calling into question the apparent need to isolate children and jab them against the virus.
Indeed, U.S.-based legal advocacy group Children’s Health Defense has called upon the Food and Drug Administration to cease its push for child COVID shots, stating that “[v]accinating young children against a virus that poses no harm to them is unethical and dangerous.”
Furthermore, in May, the Supreme Court of India handed down a ruling outlawing forced vaccination and ordering that COVID jab mandates cannot violate “bodily integrity and personal autonomy.”
“Until the infection rate remains low and any new development or research finding emerges which provides due justification to impose reasonable and proportionate restrictions on the rights of unvaccinated individuals, we suggest that all authorities in this country, including private organisations and educational institutions, review the relevant orders and instructions imposing restrictions on unvaccinated individuals in terms of access to public places, services and resources, if not already recalled,” wrote Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B. R. Gavai, claiming that vaccine mandates cannot be considered constitutional.
However, Prakash determined that “in view of the above and [bringing] the health and safety of children into consideration, the Governor of Manipur is pleased to order that all schools (government/government aided/private schools/schools affiliated to CBSE) located in the State shall be closed for conduct of classes with immediate effect and shall remain closed until [July 24] in public interest.”
The announcement came on the heels of just 59 newly identified COVID-positive individuals, with a further 47 testing positive for the virus the following day, taking the total active ‘case’ number to 172 in a state of approximately 3.1 million citizens. According to local reports, the state observed 15 recoveries from the virus in the day after Prakash’s directive and recorded no additional deaths from COVID-19.