The Pediatric Task Force headed by Dr Suhas Prabhu on Tuesday did not recommend any time frame for the reopening of the schools but supported the Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope’s recent statement that the Maharashtra Government will evaluate the demand for school reopening in 15 days after review of the ground-level situation with regard to COVID-19 and Omicron variant cases.
The Task Force welcomed Tope’s indication about reopening of schools in view of lesser morbidity and mortality of Omicron variant.
A public health department officer told the Free Press Journal, ‘’The Task Force was of the view that children are not suffering in fact much less than in Delta wave. Parents and school associations should be advised not to be afraid of Omicron variant. There was a unanimous view that vaccination should not be linked with school reopening.’’
The Task Force’s view came hours after the Maharashtra Minister of State for Education Bachchu Kadu said that a decision on reopening schools will be taken in the next four to five days and a proposal has been sent in this regard.
Schools have been shut in Maharashtra till February 15 due to the rise in COVID-19 cases across the state. "Demands are rising from certain quarters for reopening of schools as children are suffering the education loss. The chief minister will take the final call in this regard," said Tope.
The Maharashtra English Schools Trustee Association (MESTA) has made a strong case for the reopening of schools at the earliest. It has been said that online education was not accessible to all and neither was it the best mode of learning for many.
On the other hand, a zilla parishad teacher from Ahmednagar district Bhausaheb Chaskar, who has been quite critical about the state government’s decision for the closure of schools, said it was taken based on the burgeoning cases in Mumbai and Pune though there has not been rise in virus infection in rural areas.
Meanwhile, the Task Force said the vaccination for the age group of 15-18 years is very successful so far and it has to be encouraged further. Besides, it recommended that the vaccination for the 12-14 age bracket should start as soon as possible and encouraged.
On the death of a 15-year-old from Ghatkopar, the Task Force said it was not connected at all with vaccination. ‘’The attempt to falsely link it to vaccination was condemned and it is necessary to prevent misinformation about this in public so efforts have to be taken to stop misinformation and to give the right message,’’ it added.
