Puducherry, Jul 12 (IANS): Puducherry will open schools for students of Classes 9 to 12 and all colleges, including professional colleges, from July 16, Chief Minister N. Rangasami announced on Sunday.

Schools and colleges in Puducherry central, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe will be opened due to the falling Covid-19 cases and the speeding-up of vaccination.

Puducherry's Director of Health and Family Welfare Services, S. Mohan Kumar, announced earlier that there were no Covid fatalities in the Union Territory since the past 24 hours and the number of active cases has come down to 145.

Lt Governor, Tamilisai Soundararajan has said that the vaccination drive has picked up in the UT and 5 lakh people already vaccinated in a related development. She also said that the vaccination drive is accelerated and is slated to provide the first dose to all the eligible population by August 15. Vaccination hesitancy among the people has also come down and people in large numbers have come out for getting inoculated, she added.

Mahe-based journalist and social activist Praveen Kumar told IANS that the reopening of schools is a welcome move "but the authorities concerned must not allow any lethargy in preventing children from mingling with each other and should monitor that there is strict adherence to Covid standard protocol".

"Otherwise things will again get out of hands, which should not happen."