Nagpur: The second wave of covid-19 pandemic which has finally receded and seems to be a third wave that is projected with a low intensity compared to the first two.
Given this, the call to reopen the school grows harder now.
Toi spoke to children and teenagers psychiatrists, pediatrics, and specialists of infectious diseases in Vidarbha and they all had firmly saying school for all classes – directly from primary and pre-primary – must be opened immediately.
“Children have associated with each other in all parts of Maharashtra.
They play together, travel with family, go to malls and markets etc.
Then why not go to school?” Said Dr.
Vijay Dhote, President of the Nagpur Academy of Paediatrics.
“School setups must be for the physical and mental development of children.
As a member of the Covid Task Force, we constantly suggest, at the district and country level, to reopen the school.
But, the final decision must be taken by the government,” he said.
A senior member of the Covid State Task Force told TII that the school experience was reopened in the promising Maharashtra countryside because there was no surge in the case that was witnessed there.
“Children under 10 years are mostly safe from Covid-19 infection.
So, there is no risk in enabling the school to reopen at least post-diwali,” said member.
Dr.
Nitin Shinde’s infectious disease specialist said children under 7 years were almost non-communicable.
“Waiting to watch the incidence of disease is over now.
There is no point in waiting more than a few weeks from here to reopen all schools,” he said.
According to Dr.
Shinde, schools must now shift the focus of cleaning the surface to ventilation.
Vaccination All adults in school must be compulsory and local civil bodies can always carry out random testing of adult staff and symptomatic children.
“Whenever possible, physical distance must be followed at school.
We have to progress now,” he added.
Dr.
Pritam Chandak, a child consultant and teen psychiatrist, said we had spent more than a year trying various things.
“We have waited when gold like ‘zero covid’ before reopening the school.
It won’t happen,” he said, adding to there and in cases and, therefore, we need a flexible response to possibilities.
“Schools from home culture have significantly improved mental problems and behavior such as depression, anxiety, irritability, aggression, sleep disorders in children,” he said.
While sugging the road ahead, Dr.
Chandak said the school was previously used to operate on the annual calendar, but now we must decide it to be a quarterly schedule, such as in many other sectors.
“We have to think that from now on to Dussehra in October, we want our children to have a particular school experience,” he said.