Take lessons from AP, say docs

Take lessons from AP, say docs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:12.11.2020

As Gujarat is all set to reopen the schools after Diwali for senior classes, medical experts provide a word of caution for the schools and administration. They pointed at the Andhra Pradesh experience where the schools had opened in the first week of November, and soon a large number of teachers and students had tested positive.

Dr Chetan Trivedi, executive board member of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), said that the second wave of Covid-19 infections is already predicted by the experts in view of the festivities and change in season.

“In such a scenario, the onus is on the family and school to ensure that the child doesn’t become a super-spreader. The children don’t show severe symptoms in a majority of the cases, and thus they are not tested. But they can surely become carriers for others,” he said.

Dr Pragnesh Vachharajani, secretary of Ahmedabad Family Physicians Association (AFPA), said that it’s going to be very difficult for the schools to ensure the safety norms and mask protocols for school hours. “We are not sure about the timings, but it is difficult to expect school students to wear masks for more than four hours. Would they be maintaining social distancing outside the classrooms? I am not sure,” he said, adding that the AP experience is an indication of what can go wrong and we need to come out with a successful model to open the schools.