Medical and nursing colleges in Himachal Pradesh set to reopen from December 1

The state government of Himachal Pradesh has announced that the medical and nursing colleges in the state will be reopening from December 1 onwards, as per the directives issued by the central government regarding the same.

The medical and nursing colleges in Himachal will be reopening after eight months, as they were shut down in March, along with will all the educational institutes in the country, due to the rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The medical and nursing colleges in the state will be reopened with several safety measures in place. The students who have tested negative for Covid-19 will be allowed to enter the college premises and attend classes from next week.

Himachal Pradesh Health Secretary Amitabh Avasthi stated that only the students who have been tested negative for Covid-19 will be able to attend classes and



each student will have to submit written consent from parents before coming to college.

The state health secretary also stated that only the students of the first and last year of MBBS and BDS courses will be allowed to attend classes in the first phase of reopening medical colleges. Classes for the rest of the students will be conducted from December 7.

The National Medical Commission had recently instructed all the states to take steps for the reopening of medical colleges from December 1 amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This decision was taken to help future doctors understand and learn from the pandemic.

The state government of Himachal Pradesh has imposed a night curfew from 8 pm to 6 am in four districts including the state's capital Shimla from November 24 to December 15 in view of the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.