Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 11: Amidst concern expressed by the Karnataka government over sudden spike in Covid cases among the children in Bengaluru, an advice has come from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to priorities re-opening of schools, though with adherence to the Coronavirus-appropriate norms. .
The WHO chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan while noting that the impact of the pandemic would last a long time on children’s mental, physical and cognitive well-being, said reopening of schools must be prioritised maintaining proper health and hygiene as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to prevail on worrisome levels.
She said school openings must be prioritised with distancing, masking, avoiding indoor singing and gatherings, hand hygiene and vaccination of all adults,” Swaminathan said onTwitter. She also tagged India’s NITI Aayog and UNICEF in the tweet. Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Representative in India was also marked.
Her tweet comes just as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike revealed on Wednesday that around 250 children have tested Covid positive in the last five days in Bengaluru while neighbouring Kerala is witnessing a sudden surge in the number of Covid infections and the apprehension of a third wave of the pandemic is looming large.
Earlier on August 6, the WHO senior doctor had cautioned people to not let their guards down against the Covid-19 as social activities started resuming. She also urged people to continue to strictly follow Covid-appropriate behaviour for at least another six months. “I know everybody is tired, everyone wants to meet their family, organise parties. But this is not the time to let down your guard. Let’s be careful for another six months. By then, if the vaccination coverage is very high, then things should definitely start improving,” the WHO chief scientist had said.
Schools across the country started reopening as the overall nationwide infections started receding after the deadly second wave of Covid-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic last year, classes have been erratic due to the brief closures of schools due to the pandemic. Most schools have also moved on to online education because of the pandemic.
On June 19, the Union education ministry had released the guidelines for parent participation in home-based learning during school closure and beyond.
Former education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in his tweet said “in this ‘new normal’ of the pandemic, considering parents’ role as pivotal to children’s growth and learning, these Guidelines aim to provide information on the ‘why’, ‘what’, and ‘how-to’ of participation and engagement in supporting children during the school closure, irrespective of their literacy levels. Home is the first school, and parents are the first teachers.”
The guidelines on home-based learning emphasise on the need for parents to create a safe and engaging environment and a positive learning environment, have realistic expectations from the child, take care of health and eat healthy, while at the same time having fun with children.
The figure of the Covid infections among the children up to the age of 19 is in tune with the overall increase in Covid positive cases in Bengaluru, which started in July last week. Around 50 children have been testing Covid positive every day since the last week of July.
Children below the age of 18 years are thought to be at greater risk in the possible third wave of the pandemic, though experts have asserted that there is no scientific base behind this assumption. The assumption is based on the concept that children have not been affected much in the first two waves. But serosurvey data shows children have been equally exposed to the infection in the first two waves as they too have developed antibodies against the virus naturally.
During the second wave of the pandemic, Karnataka reported a considerable number of children testing Covid positive.
Bengaluru Police have imposed Section 144 in the city while several restrictions have been put in place in the entire state. Schools for classes 9 to 12 will reopen from August 23, the state government announced a few days ago.