'Why are we rushing to reopen schools', Medanta's Dr. Naresh Trehan raises alarm
Dr. Naresh Trehan, chairman of Medanta, has raised an alarm over reopening of schools throughout the country. The senior doctor advocated for vaccination of children before they be sent to schools.
"Children in India are not being vaccinated. If enough children fall sick, we don't have good facilities to take care of them. Given our population size, we should be cautious. The fact is that a vaccine is now round the corner," Dr. Trehan told news agency ANI.
Cautioning against prevailing cirumstances, Trehan questioned as to what was the reason to rush into reopening of schools.
"Is it that we should be patient for another few months, then a vaccine arrives and children get vaccinated and go to schools, or are we in a rush to open schools for what reason I don't know? Extreme caution should be used regarding in what circumstances we reopen schools," he opined.
Earlier on Saturday, Dr. Naveet Wig of AIIMS said it was important to weigh the pros and cons and look at risks as well. We have to save our children, he said, urging all to maintain respiratory hygiene, cleanliness and ensure usage of masks.
"We have to weigh the pros and cons. We know that children are fed up at home. But we have to look at risks as well. These children are not vaccinated. Once they go to school, we have to treat them as unvaccinated individuals," he said.
"Children need their neurocognitive effects, their physical and mental health. We have to keep balance and ensure that test positivity rate is less than 0.5%. We have to save our children. Respiratory hygiene, cleanliness, masks should be ensured in schools," Wig added.
Most states in the country have decided to reopen schools even as medical experts advised authorities to tread with caution, amid looming threat of an imminent third wave of Covid-19. Quite recently, the Delhi government decided to reopen schools for classes 9 to 12, colleges and coaching institutions will reopen from September 1, following a marked marked improvement in the COVID-19 situation here.
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