Maharashtra: Schools to reopen from October 4; COVID-19 situation improves
Maharashtra Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad Friday announced that the state government has decided to reopen schools from October 4. She also added that the decision has the approval of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as well as the COVID-19 task force and the state health department. The decision came as the state has witnessed a decline in COVID-19 cases recently. Here are more details.
Schools to reopen in a phased manner
Stating that schools will reopen in a phased manner, Gaikwad said schools in rural areas will resume for classes V-XII and for classes VIII-XII in urban areas. She also said that local authorities have been given powers to bring children back to schools. Notably, a state government-formed committee has set guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for school reopening.
What do the guidelines say?
The SOPs (standard operating procedures) suggested by the committee include staggered school hours, social distancing inside classrooms, setting up school health clinics, etc. Some mandatory protocols include the sanitization of schools, wearing face masks, etc.
Maharashtra reported 3,320 cases, 61 deaths yesterday
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Thursday reported 3,320 new COVID-19 cases, which took its total infection tally to 65,34,557. With 61 new deaths on Thursday, its total death toll jumped to 1,38,725. Notably, the state's COVID-19 recovery rate now stands at 97.22%, while the fatality rate is 2.12%. It now has 39,191 active cases, while it has discharged 4,090 patients in the last 24 hours.
8 districts reported nil COVID-19 cases
The improvement in the state's COVID-19 situation is reflected in the fact that eight districts did not report any new infections. These include Dhule, Bhandara, Hingoli, Gondia, Nanded, Akola, Amravati, and Chandrapur. Similarly, Jalgaon, Parbhani, and Chandrapur municipal corporations (urban areas) reported zero cases on Thursday. However, Pune and Mumbai regions are still reporting over a thousand cases.
Pune region reported highest number of new cases
Out of the eight regions in Maharashtra, Pune reported the highest number of new cases: 1,159. Officials said of the 61 deaths reported state-wide, 28 were reported from Pune alone. Of the 39,191 active patients in the state, Pune has the highest, at 9,807. However, the district has also recorded the highest number of recoveries in the state, at 11,08,460.
How is the situation in Mumbai?
On Thursday, Mumbai city lodged the second-highest number of cases after Ahmednagar district. It reported 498 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths. Meanwhile, the greater Mumbai region reported 1,050 new cases on Thursday.
