After the second wave of Covid-19, schools are being reopened for classes 9-12 in Delhi from September 1. The Delhi government has issued detailed SOPs related to the opening of schools, in which everything which school authorities have to take care of, is properly mentioned. The most important point in the SOPs issued by the Delhi government is that every school has to have a quarantine room so that children could get treatment on time in case of any emergency. The Delhi government’s move comes amid the Indian Medical Association (IMA) welcoming the decision of several states to allow re-opening of schools with restrictions, terming it a positive step, but reiterating the need for strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols.
Nishant Sharma, Academic Head of Vidya Bal Bhavan Senior Secondary School located in Mayur Vihar Phase 3 of East Delhi, said: “Opening of schools after a long gap of one-and-a-half years is going to be challenging. Following the guidelines released by the Delhi government, a quarantine room has been made in the school which includes four beds, along with an oxygen cylinder and an oxygen concentrator. We have also contacted a nearby hospital so that proper medical facilities can be provided to the children in case of an emergency.”
“Following the guidelines of the Delhi government, to maintain social distancing while sitting, we have put stickers on every other bench on which children are forbidden to sit. The Delhi government has ordered that classes will be conducted with 50% capacity. Along with this, teaching will be conducted by the teachers in both online and offline modes and teachers are being trained for this. In the SOP issued by the Delhi government, it is also mentioned that children will not be able to come to school without the consent of their parents. So in such a situation, for counseling of parents, we are conducting an online counseling session from September 1,” said Nishant Sharma.
Nishant Sharma also said: “All the teachers of our school are vaccinated and the staff who have not got vaccines are not allowed to come to the school. There will be a distance of at least 10 feet between the teacher and the children so that social distancing can be maintained. Along with this, children will not share lunch and water bottles among themselves. Thermal screening of children will be done at the school gate itself, after which the children will be able to go to class.”
As Covid-19 cases continue to remain under the 50,000-mark for the past several weeks, IMA president Dr J.A. Jayalal said that this is the right time when the government should come forward, take a calculated risk and open the schools.
“This is a positive move, but strict protocol needs to be followed. This is a very complex decision which has to be taken. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been issued by the various state governments. All the teachers and the staff who are working in the schools should be vaccinated and there should not be more than 20 to 30 students in a class,” he said.
According to some source-based reports, Punjab and Bihar have seen a spike in positivity rate, but some states like Maharashtra and Jharkhand have witnessed a decline in cases after schools reopened. Some states that have opened schools with 50 per cent occupancy and other Covid-related restrictions have seen a rise in the positivity rate among children up to 17 years of age. According to the data, the infection rate among children in July and August shows that states like Punjab, Bihar, Madhya MP, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh have seen a spike in the positivity rate after the reopening of schools. With agency inputs