Schools unlikely to reopen in Pune on Jan 24

After the state government gave its nod to reopen schools from January 24, Pune mayor Muralidhar Mohol said that the civic administration will not rush into any decision

Pune: After the state government gave its nod to reopen schools from January 24, Pune mayor Muralidhar Mohol said that the civic administration will not rush into any decision. He cited the increasing number of Covid cases as a matter of concern saying before taking the final call, all stakeholders will be consulted.

After the state government gave its nod to reopen schools from January 24, Pune mayor Muralidhar Mohol said that the civic administration will not rush into any decision. (HT)

According to Mohol, a final decision will be taken in the weekly Covid review meet scheduled to be held on Saturday. Though the state government has decided to reopen schools, including pre-primary classes, from Monday, education Minister Varsha Gaikwad said that the government has given the powers to local bodies to take a final decision depending upon the Covid-19 situation in the respective areas.

“In Pune, Covid cases have been increasing since last 8-10 days. The number of patients is increasing. I spoke to some paediatricians and they have advised caution for Classes 1-10 as infected kids are showing symptoms such as fever. In this wave around 3,000 kids have been infected and 100 are hospitalised. After considering all these factors, we are unsure whether to immediately reopen schools or not,” said Mohol.

According to the mayor, on Saturday, there will be a review meeting in the presence of Pune guardian minister Ajit Pawar.

“The decision will be taken in that meeting. Before taking any decision, we will discuss the matter with students, parents’ associations and doctors from the task force. increasing caseload in the city is a matter of concern. Our priority will be the health of kids,” he said.

The offline classes in schools and colleges had resumed in December as the Covid cases were dropping. However, with a surge in Covid infections in January, the state government had decided to stop offline classes. The Covid situation is varying across the state.

“My 12-year-old son suffers from high fever and cough. His Covid test result was negative. The doctor said that it could be some other viral infection. Most of the kids from his group have had such symptoms. Even if schools reopen, he cannot go to school immediately until he recovers. I think it is best to take precautions before rushing into anything,” said Deepali Hatekar, a resident of Kothrud.