Unvaccinated teachers in Kerala barred from taking physical classes, unvaccinated people barred from free medical treatment: CM Vijayan

In a move to apparently encourage everyone to get fully vaccinated, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on November 30, said that anyone not following COVID-19 prevention measures like vaccination, will not be provided free medical treatment. Furthermore, he said that teachers and non-teaching staff in the state who have not taken both doses of the COVID vaccine due to illness or allergies, must produce a government doctor's certificate or take classes only after vaccination.

In a COVID review meeting, Vijayan added that those working at an educational institution, who do not get vaccinated, will have to get a negative RT-PCR test every week at their own cost. The Chief Minister added that these directions to schools and colleges have been issued to ensure the safety of the students. 

He also said that children with disabilities will be allowed to attend schools, there will be no change in school timings for now. Earlier in the day, state Education Minister V Sivankutty said that any teacher who is not vaccinated would not be allowed to enter the campus and would have to conduct online classes.  

Similar to the teachers, the general population in the state who are unable to get vaccinated due to medical reasons should produce a government doctor's certificate in order to receive free treatment, Vijayan said. He further said that the health department has been directed to organise a special vaccination drive from December 1 to 15 in the state.

In view of the new variant of Coronavirus, Omicron, Vijayan has directed the state authorities to strictly check the travel history of those arriving in the state from other countries.