The Tamil Nadu government has reopened schools for classes 9 to 12 from September 1, however, it is yet to announce the reopening of schools for junior classes. The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that the state can consider taking offline classes, citing the ICMR’s serosurvey report.
As per the study conducted in June and July, children were found with the same percentage of antibodies as adults despite staying at home. The percentage of seroprevalence in the country was 67.6 per cent, out of which 57.2 per cent were found among the 6-9 age group and 61.6 per cent were found in the 10-17 age group.
While addressing the “Every child a scientist” programme at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, she said that the reason for the presence of antibodies among children was community exposure as kids go shopping, playing and mingling with others. She also cited that the chances for Covid-19 infection spreading in schools are low if the safety protocols like improving ventilation, social distancing and sanitation will be followed strictly.
There is no scientific basis to claim that the next Covid-19 wave will affect children severely, Swaminathan added. However, the proportion of infection among kids might change as they are not vaccinated yet but the severity of the disease is very minimal among children when compared to adults. “Among the younger age group, less than 1 per cent of children are getting admitted to the hospitals,” she said.
The schools have been closed for the last 18 months and hence, there has been a huge loss of learning among students as the online and digital classes are not so effective. Meanwhile, school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhisaid that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin would take a final call on reopening classes after reviewing the Covid-19 situation in the state.
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