Schools Reopen with COVID-19 Precautions Amid Rising Cases in India

Schools Reopen with COVID-19 Precautions: Karnataka’s Health and Family Welfare Department has sounded an alert after the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 311. The rise in COVID-19 cases comes amid the schools reopening after the summer break. Following this, authorities closely monitor the situation, especially with the resurgence of related respiratory infections.

In the latest 24-hour reporting period, 87 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed from a pool of 504 tests, resulting in a test positivity rate of 17.2%, as per a report on IANS. Despite the uptick in cases, no fatalities have been reported, and the case fatality rate remains at zero. A total of 29 patients recovered and were discharged during the same timeframe.

As students returned to classrooms, many were seen wearing masks along with teachers and staff members. The state government, anticipating the public health risk, had issued a circular last week stressing the need to follow Covid-19 safety protocols in all schools — government, aided, and unaided.

Even parents who accompanied students to school were seen wearing masks as they came to drop their children off on the first day of school.

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Covid-19 appropriate behaviour was seen being followed by students in many schools in Bengaluru City as they lined up at the entrance of the school, maintaining distance while entering the premises. Their body temperatures were also being checked by the staffs.

The health and family welfare commissioner, in the advisory, directed parents not to send their children to school if they exhibit symptoms such as fever, cough, or cold. The same applies to school staff — both teaching and non-teaching — who have been asked to take appropriate precautions if they are unwell.

“If children come to school with fever, cough, cold, and other symptoms, inform their parents and send them back to home,” the circular from the health department said. “If these symptoms are found among the school teachers and non-teaching staff, they should be advised to follow appropriate precautionary measures.”

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As of Sunday evening, Karnataka reported 253 active COVID-19 cases, with four deaths attributed to comorbid conditions since the beginning of the year.

In line with health directives, the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has reiterated that symptomatic children should not be sent to school and should only return after receiving medical attention and full recovery. The commissioner of public instruction also issued a parallel advisory stating that children must attend school only after symptoms subside and that all schools must remain vigilant in implementing preventive measures.

General secretary of the associated managements of schools in Karnataka (KAMS), D Shashikumar, said, “For the safety of children, we have been instructed to follow Covid-19 precautionary measures in all schools under our organisation. Accordingly, all our schools have been sanitised. Parents have been advised not to send children with fever, cough, and cold, and other problems to school. All the instructions issued by the government in this regard from time to time will be followed without fail.”

In parallel, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao announced the expansion of Gruha Arogya Yojana (Home Health Scheme). The initiative will now include screening for 14 non-communicable diseases, aiming to tackle health threats proactively. The minister stressed the need for preventive care, noting that while the private sector focuses on treatment, the responsibility of prevention must be shouldered by the government.

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