Technical Advisory Committee recommends K'taka govt not to reopen schools in December

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 23 (ANI): The Technical Advisory Committee for COVID-19 has recommended to the Karnataka government not to reopen schools in December.
"After extensive deliberations, it was unanimously resolved not to reopen schools in December," said (TAC), Karnataka in a statement.
However, the scenario of COVID-19 in the state shall be reviewed in the last week of December to consider the reopening of schools at an appropriate time subsequently, the committee stressed.
During the meeting held on Sunday, Dr M K Sudarshan, TAC, Chairperson informed the members that the state is considering reopening of the schools very soon. "The TAC in its 40th (October 8) and 49th (November 9) meetings had deliberated extensively on this subject. It was then decided to postpone the re-opening of the schools after reviewing the COVID-19 scenario in the state subsequently. In the meanwhile, from November 17 colleges have been reopened, but the attendance of students is very poor."
From December 1, it is planned to reopen medical and paramedical colleges in the state. However, the impact of reopening of the colleges will be known in the coming days, Sudarshan said.
As the current scenario of COVID-19 in the state is showing a declining trend with around 1,700 cases and 20 deaths reported daily, the committee said that it is important to consolidate this gain that is made after great efforts in the last eight months to contain the disease in the state.
"Besides, the months of December and January due to winter are cold and conducive to the occurrence and spread of respiratory infections including COVID-19. The epidemiological perspective based on state COVID-19 survey done in September is that there may be a spike in COVID-19 cases in the districts with low prevalence," it added.
After taking suggestions from parents, health committee officials and educational experts, the Karnataka government is set to take a decision soon on whether schools should be re-opened in the state.
According to sources, some of the experts and officials have suggested the education department to start offline classes for high school from December.
Karnataka has reported 24,887 active COVID-19 cases, 8,36,505 recoveries and 11,654 fatalities, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Monday. (ANI)