From Neil Fairlamb, Chairman of Grail Trust (UK):
We were informed today (25th March, 2021) by our Indian partner trustees that schools are once again closed in our area of Tamil Nadu, following a sharp increase in Covid cases.
Nationally there were 8,000 cases a day being diagnosed in January, but this figure has now risen this week to 53,000 cases a day. The increase in the state of Tamil Nadu, where our project is located, has risen from 500 to 1,700 per day.
All schools except for the oldest age group – XII standard – are closed. Almost none of our younger children (below 16) has access to online facilities for learning and school closure has been very hard for families.
Our increased maintenance support for families continues.
