Not the right time to reopen schools: Experts

Health experts have mixed opinions on the Centre’s decision to allow normal reopening of schools, on a voluntary basis for students, from September 21.
Experts say there is high proportion of children and adolescents who might have poor immune response due to undernutrition and stress | Express
Experts say there is high proportion of children and adolescents who might have poor immune response due to undernutrition and stress | Express

BENGALURU: Health experts have mixed opinions on the Centre’s decision to allow normal reopening of schools, on a voluntary basis for students, from September 21. While some say that children can be asymptomatic carriers which can lead to spread of Covid-19, others believe that a school atmosphere can help improve the mental health of a child.

According to many experts, the time is not right for the reopening of schools as India now ranks second after the United States in the number of Covid infection cases. Dr Giridhar Babu, head of Lifecourse Epidemiology at the Public Health Foundation of India, noted that most children might have none or just mild symptoms. “We do not have representative seroprevalence estimates in children to understand what adversities they may face.

Also, there is high proportion of children and adolescents who might have poor immune response due to undernutrition and stress,” Babu said, adding that children might infect others at home and school. Dr Manu Chaudhary, consultant, Paediatric Infectious Disease, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, agreed that children, being carriers, can go home and spread the infection to their family.

The government should not take the risk of reopening schools as India has the second highest number of Covid cases globally, he said. “We have been seeing increasing reports of children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) with Covid, which is again a worry.” However, for Dr Manika Ghosh, psychologist, reopening of schools can boost the mental health of children, who have been confined to their homes for four months.

“Though opening schools poses a physical health risk due to the Covid situation, it can also be very good as children have been indoors for a long time. Meeting friends, teachers and studying under a school atmosphere, or even running around playgrounds can help in their personality development. Online classes are only about knowledge distribution and don’t help much,” Ghosh said.

Emphasising that schools must follow all Covid safety measures to reopen, Dr Antony K R of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Indian Public Health Association, said normal classes can be started only if social distancing is followed. “This should be the priority if classes are resumed. Instead of classrooms, schools should opt for big halls to ensure distancing. Infrared screening should be done in classes daily,” he said, adding that male and female teachers, aged above 50, should not be allowed to work.

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