In report on 3rd wave, panel suggests reopening of schools

An expert committee led by noted cardiologist Dr Devi Prasad Shetty on Tuesday submitted a 91-page interim report to the Karnataka government in which it has recommended the reopening of schools and colleges in the state despite the looming threat of a third wave of Covid-19 infections

An expert committee led by noted cardiologist Dr Devi Prasad Shetty on Tuesday submitted a 91-page interim report to the Karnataka government in which it has recommended the reopening of schools and colleges in the state despite the looming threat of a third wave of Covid-19 infections.

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The government appointed technical advisory committee (TAC), in its recommendations, argued that education is the fundamental right of a child and stated that reopening physical schools would optimise learning, physical and mental health as well as for nutritional aspects of children.

“Any further delay in school reopening may push children into malnutrition, child labour, child marriage, child trafficking, begging etc., making their condition further worse,” according to the report.

According to the TAC, there are 23,838,995 people below the age of 18 in the state having an estimated population of 70,259,592, which accounts for 34%.

However, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said that they are still yet to take a decision on the same and will review the recommendations.

The report also said that the possibility of schools being areas of large transmissions has not been proved anywhere in the world, adding to uncertainty on the impact the third wave will have on children.

In a statement from the chief minister’s office (CMO) on Tuesday, the government said that it was considering reopening colleges in the state after making arrangements to vaccinate all students above 18 years of age.

“It is suggested to prioritize inoculation to students and teaching fraternity. The committee has suggested reviewing phase-wise reopening of schools and colleges,” according to the statement.

After having neglected the advice of experts for the preparedness of the second wave, the BS Yediyurappa government is now attempting to ensure there are adequate preparations in place for any subsequent waves to minimize impact on health and economy of the state.

The mismanagement of Covid-19 during the ongoing second wave, that began around the first week of March, had also stirred dissent within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators who, among other factors, used this to cite the incompetence of the chief minister and sought his removal from office.

The committee has also advised to seek help of experts and make use of both human and financial resources to contain the impact of the third wave. “Among the total Covid-19 infections, children aged between 0-18years constituted around 8 to 10% during (the) 1st and 2nd wave. Most of national and international data indicated that a maximum of 5-7% of such children required hospitalisation. However, a recent data from the US suggests that children in the age group of 12-17 years requires almost around 31% ICU admission and among them 5% needed invasive ventilation, but no deaths were reported. To meet the surge in India, especially in Karnataka, we need to be ready for a little higher number to be requiring hospitalisation,” the report added.

The TAC has also estimated that the bed requirement according to categories of moderate, best- and worst-case scenarios to estimate the rough requirement of hospital beds.

According to estimates made by the TAC, the state government would require around 51,008 beds required, including 6,801 ICU/HDU beds in the best-case scenario. In the moderate case scenario, the TAC has calculated a requirement of 73,963 beds in total.

And in the worst-case scenario, the TAC has estimated the bed requirement of 95,216, including 13,602 ICU/HDU beds.

The report also emphasises the need for the presence and wide utilisation of mental health professionals in every hospital to boost the morale of Covid-infected children. “It is necessary to give priority to solve post Covid health issues and other health problems other than Covid,” the CMO added.

For testing, the TAC has said that non-conventional methods like nasal and oropharyngeal swabs, gargle and salivary RT-PCR, which are ways that children are comfortable with.

“We are working under tremendous uncertainty,” Dr Jagdish Chinnappa, pediatrician at Manipal Hospital and one of the 16 members of the TAC told Hindustan Times.

He added that there is no enough data to indicate how the disease will impact children which is why there is a need to find a balance between “over preparedness and complacent”. He, however, said that Karnataka has around 3,000 pediatricians and the state’s healthcare infrastructure was far better than other regions in the country.