As Schools Reopen, Covid Numbers For Children Up In Some States

Some states where schools have opened amid concerns about a third wave of the Covid pandemic, are seeing a rise in infections among children. The cases in point are in six states -- Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. In Jharkhand and Chandigarh, though, the trend is opposite.

The biggest spike in infection among children has taken place in Punjab -- between July and August, the figures there have grown by 9.6 per cent. Schools in the state had reopened since August 2.

In the rest of the states -- Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh -- the growth in positivity among children has been between 2 and 3 per cent.

Schools have been open in Gujarat since July 26. In Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, they opened in the first week of August. Bihar was the last to join the group -- the schools there opened after August 16.

The hill state of Uttarakhand, where schools opened after August 2, has the lowest positivity spike among children -- 1.9 per cent.

There are also a few states, where a negative growth in positivity percentage has been seen after reopening of schools. In Jharkhand, where schools opened since August 9, there has been a negative growth of 0.9 per cent.

Delhi and Telangana too have announced dates for the reopening of schools.

All educational institutions in Telangana, including Anganwadi centres, will open from tomorrow.

Delhi, which bore the brunt of the second wave of Covid in summer this year, has adopted caution and decided to open schools in a phased manner.

Physical classes for Classes 9 to 12 will begin on September 1. Coaching classes, Colleges and Universities are also allowed to open from the same day. In the second phase, from September 8, students of Classes 6 to 8 will be allowed to go for physical classes.

Vaccination for children aged 12 and above is expected to begin in October with Zydus Cadila's three-dose COVID-19 DNA vaccine. While there has been concern about the third wave targeting children, many experts are of the opinion that children's in-built immunity will protect them from the virus. 

Schools that were shut since last year ahead of the declaration of lockdown in March, got the green signal to open as the second wave of Covid abated. Some experts warned that failure to reopen schools at this point will affect their physical and mental well-being.