Panel calls for decentralised decision on school reopening
PAEDIATRICS ACADEMY URGES STRICT COVID-19 APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR
Atask force constituted by the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has issued recommendations for schools reopening in the country on the basis of current Covid-19 situation and scientific evidence.
Earlier, the IAP had issued guidelines and recommendations in 2020 on “School Reopening, Remote Learning, and Curriculum during and after Covid-19 pandemic.”
The task force comprising of 12 members from across the country has now recommended that the decision of reopening of schools should be taken at the district level.
“Decision making regarding the school reopening should be decentralised, it should be taken at the level of districts (or taluka/city/village /school) according to the local situation rather than at the national or state level),” read the IAP statement.
“Strict compliance to the Covid-19 appropriate behaviour should be encouraged and ensured. Isolation, testing and contracting of symptomatic school attendees should be carried out as per local health guidelines,” it said further.
School transport
The IAP, a representative association of Paediatricians in India, has also said that the health care system should be adequately geared up to handle outbreaks and local Covid-19 cases should be reviewed every 15 days.
It said that schools and state governments should facilitate the joining of students to school by arranging school transport like pre-Covid era and should not impose restrictions such as RT-PCR Covid test of students.
The paediatricians association also mentioned the criteria for school reopening to be met at the local level. “The case positivity rate for Covid-19 should be less than 5 per cent for the preceding two weeks or if the case positivity rate is greater than 5 per cent, the total number of new cases should have been steadily declining over the preceding two weeks,” it said.
“The number of new cases per lakh population per day should be less than 20 for the preceding two weeks and vaccination coverage of eligible population should be 60 per cent or more that includes at least one dose of the any of the Covid-19 vaccine,” it added.
Speaking further on criteria, the IAP said that all the adult members working at and closely associated with schools that include teachers, non-teaching staff, support staff, drivers, attendants and school visitors should have received at least one dose of Covid vaccine.
Parents consent needed
As per the recommendations, high-risk staff members who come under comorbidities should be fully vaccinated with two doses 15 days before attending school.
“Parents and other members of the students also received at least one dose of vaccine, and parents should be willing and should give consent for sending their wards to schools. Highrisk children should consult their paediatricians before joining the schools,” the IAP said.
The IAP did not recommend the seropositivity of the population as an epidemiological indicator for school reopening.
High-risk staff with comorbidities are recommended to be fully vaccinated with two doses 15 days before attending school.