The schools for classes 1 to 7 will reopen from Thursday (December 16) in the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), said an order issued by municipal commissioner Rajesh Patil.
In the order, Patil said schools should ensure cleanliness and sanitisation of their premises. Thermometer, scanner/gun, pulse oximeter, soap, water, sanitisers should be made available in the school premises, he added.
The teachers and non-teaching staff who have not taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine should possess a negative RT-PCR report not older than 48 hours, the report further said.
Meanwhile, civic schools for classes 1 to 7 have reopened in Mumbai today (Wednesday, December 15). But, some private schools decided to reopen after Christmas holidays, while adopting a cautious stand and citing late communication by authorities.
In the morning, many children wearing uniforms and carrying schools bags appeared happy and excited while entering the premises of various civic-run institutions after a long gap.
At some schools, the children looked pleasantly surprised on being welcomed by persons dressed up as some of the popular cartoon characters.
Students of class 1 are physically attending the school after almost two years, an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
An order to reopen schools in the metropolis had been issued by BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal.
Earlier, the schools for students of primary and middle sections were supposed to reopen in the first week of December (on December 1 in Pune and on December 4 in Mumbai), but the decision was postponed due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.
In Pune, the civic body has decided to reopen schools on Thursday.
(With PTI inputs)
