Maharashtra School Reopening: “If Omicron cases continue to rise, we may take a call to shut the schools again. We are monitoring the situation”, news agency ANI quoted Gaikwad as saying.
Mumbai: Amid the Omicron scare, Maharashtra school education minister Varsha Eknath Gaikwad on Wednesday said that if the cases of new variants continue to rise, the government might take a decision to shut down schools again. “If Omicron cases continue to rise, we may take a call to shut the schools again. We are monitoring the situation”, news agency ANI quoted Gaikwad as saying.
Normal classes for standards 1-7 in the urban areas and 1-4 in the rural areas resumed in Maharashtra from December 1. However, in Pune, classes from 1 to 7 resumed on December 16. “We have decided to resume classes for standard I to VII in the Pune Municipal Corporation area from December 16. Parents should take note of this,” Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol had said in the order.
Earlier on Tuesday, Maharashtra recorded 11 new infections of the Omicron variant of coronavirus which took the tally of such cases in the state to 65. As reported by the National Institute of Virology, 11 more patients have been found to be infected by Omicron,” the state health department said. Eight of the new cases came to light following the screening at the Mumbai airport while one case each was found in Navi Mumbai, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Osmanabad, said the official release.
To combat the spread, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) tightened guidelines and said that prior permission is now mandatory for any program or event to be attended by 200 or more people. As per a circular issued on December 20, the permission of the local assistant municipal commissioner will be required for such programs or functions.
Further, local ward officers should send their “representatives” to check if rules related to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour are being followed strictly at such programs, the BMC said.
Earlier, guidelines issued by the Maharashtra government on November 23 had said no special permission was necessary for gatherings of less than 1,000 people.
But the latest BMC circular said that if the owner, hotelier or organisers claim that their venue has the capacity to accommodate more than 200 persons even after following COVID-19-related norms and ensuring 6 ft by 6 ft distance between individuals, prior written permission of the assistant municipal commissioner must be obtained. Further, closed (indoor) halls can operate at 50 per cent of their total capacity, while open-to-sky venues shall operate at only 25 per cent of total capacity. Violation of these guidelines will attract action under the IPC and Disaster Management Act, 2005, the circular stated.
