BMC to take final call next week
Fresh SOPs expected on Tuesday; in keeping with the state govt guidelines
A day after the state government announced the reopening of schools in Maharashtra from October 4, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar on Saturday said that the final call is yet to be taken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
"The final decision will be taken by the civic administration next week. The state government has announced the reopening of schools; however, it has left the final decision about its implementation to the local governing bodies," Pednekar said on Saturday.
She added that at present more than 70 per cent of city’s teachers have been fully vaccinated and those left will be inoculated soon by arranging special drives.
"We have already discussed the possibility of restarting school for Classes 8-12. Before taking the final call, the SOPs will need to be studied thoroughly," Pednekar said.
Additional municipal commissioner and incharge of public health, Suresh Kakani said the BMC will issue a fresh set of SOPs about school reopening by Tuesday. He said that a high-level meeting on the issue is scheduled for early next week.
"The final SOPs will be laid as per the guidelines set by the state government. However, keeping the heavy population density of Mumbai in mind, there could be some changes in the SOPs that will be prepared by us," Kakani told FPJ on Saturday.
“We have increased Covid-19 testing. The total positivity rate is not more than one per cent and the fatality rate has also remained low in the city, which is a good sign compared to last year, considering the relaxations in restrictions,” Kakani said.