Don’t shut schools in Delhi every time Covid cases increase: Experts

Stakeholders and experts, however, said schools could not be shut every time there was an increase in Covid-19 cases.

The Delhi directorate of education (DoE) on Thursday asked authorities to shut parts of a school, or the entire institution “for the time being”, in the event of a positive Covid-19 case, even as experts stressed that schools could not be shut every time there was an infection spike in the city, and that it was a not an efficient method to tackle Covid-19.

 All schools in Delhi resumed with in-person only classes since April 1, as the Covid-19 graph in the city flattened out after the Omicron wave this January.(Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

“If any Covid-19 case is noticed or reported to the school authority, the same must be intimated to DoE immediately and the concerned wing of the school or the school as a whole as the case may be, must be closed down for time being,” said the advisory issued by DoE’s private school branch.

The notice was released after five students and two teachers at a private school in south Delhi tested positive for Covid-19.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia later on Thursday said the state is likely to issue detailed guidelines for schools to deal with infections among students, teachers or other staff members.

“In the past four or five days, a few reports of teachers or students testing positive for Covid-19 have been received from a few schools in the city. Those testing positive intimated the schools, but the students who came to school have not tested positive,” Sisodia said.

He added, “Covid-19 cases have marginally increased in Delhi but there is no need to panic because hospitalisation is not increasing. We all have to learn to live with Covid-19. But there is a need to stay alert.”

All schools in Delhi resumed with in-person only classes since April 1, as the Covid-19 graph in the city flattened out after the Omicron wave this January.

Stakeholders and experts, however, said schools could not be shut every time there was an increase in Covid-19 cases.

Sudha Acharya, the chairperson of the National Progressive Schools’ Conference (NPSC), which has over 120 Delhi schools as members, called the guidelines “a little vague” and open to interpretation by school administrators.

“Closing the entire school is no longer an option. Event experts advise against it. Cordoning off specific areas for sanitisation is a better option,” said Acharya.

Health experts concurred with Acharya and said other steps needed to be put in place in case positive cases emerged in schools.

Dr Jugal Kishore, head of the department of community medicine at Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital, said that while the test positivity rate in the city might be inching up, there was no need to shut schools.

“It’s important to educate parents that whenever children are suffering from respiratory problems, they shouldn’t be sent to school. They should remain at home or be sent to school with a mask, if the symptoms are mild,” said Kishore.

Former Indian Medical Association (IMA) president Dr JA Jayalal said the closure of schools was not required at this point, but said particular areas could be cordoned off along with a test-and-trace strategy for people who might have come in contact with the Covid-positive individual.

“Particular sections of the school could be cordoned off and disinfected if cases are detected. Classes can be resumed after two days as before, after sanitisation. Since vaccination has been initiated for children, the need for complete school closures shouldn’t arise,” said Jayalal.

Meanwhile, a parent of a child at the south Delhi school where five students and two teachers tested positive called for greater clarity on the protocol to be put in place in the event of a positive Covid-19 test.

“We pointed out to the school that there was no communication despite the fact that a number of students and staff members have texted positive. There is no specific protocol either. Parents need to be told the protocol that will be followed when a child turns positive,” said the parent, adding that it was crucial for the government to issue protocol for schools after the last wave of Omicron infections in the Capital.