Bengal schools may reopen on alternate days, CM Mamata Banerjee says
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that the government was considering to reopen schools soon.
The Trinamool Congress chief said that the state government was planning to resume classes on alternate days after Durga Puja vacations later this year.
Days ago, the state government had said it had no plans to open schools at any level in the near future due to the threat of an imminent third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Whenever school campuses reopen, students of higher classes will be the first to start offline classes and not those at the primary level, the education department had said.Meanwhile, ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said that it will be wise to reopen schools in the country with the primary section as children can handle viral infection much better than adults.
Bhargava, however, stressed that for such a step to be considered, it must be ensured that school teachers and other support staff members are vaccinated.
The COVID-19 tally rose in the state to 15,30,024 on Tuesday after 729 more people tested positive for the infection, while 18 fresh fatalities pushed the state's coronavirus death toll to 18,170.
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