Amid concerns over the new COVID-19 variant 'Omicron', the reopening of schools from classes 1 to 7 has been postponed by 10-15 days in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Navi Mumbai.
Mumbai:
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it has pushed the reopening of schools in the city to December 15, instead of December 1, in the wake of concerns over the emergence of the potentially more transmissible 'Omicron' variant of coronavirus.
Speaking to reporters, BMC's education officer Raju Tadvi said, "The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has posed a new threat before us. We need some time to ensure safety and implement precautionary measures. Hence, we have decided to reopen the physical attendance in schools from December 15." There are 2,20,000 students studying in Classes 1 to 7 in the BMC schools, he said.
"We need to arrange for masks and sanitise all the schools. We also need to collect consent letters from parents before reopening the schools," the official said.
Thane:
District Collector Vaidehi Ranade has ordered to start all the schools for classes 1 to 4 in rural areas of Thane district from December 15 instead of December 1 as a precautionary measure against the backdrop of new COVID-19 variant 'Omicron'.
Pune:
Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol made the announcement saying that in view of the Omicron variant schools will not reopen from December 1 and will remain closed till the 15th of Dec. He also said that reopening of the schools after Dec 15 will be decided after discussing with Covid task force, officers and management.
Mohol also highlighted that even if most of the adults are fully vaccinated in Pune, the children are at risk as they have not been vaccinated against coronavirus so reopening schools would be a risk factor.
Navi Mumbai:
Concerned about the outbreak of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has postponed the reopening of schools in the city. Now, schools in the city from classes 1 to 7 will reopen from December 1, said NMMC commissioner Abhijit Bangar.
The civic chief said that considering the need to be vigilant about the Omicron variant, as a precautionary measure, classes 1 to 7 in the NMMC area will remain closed till December 14.
Nashik:
Amid concerns over the new COVID-19 variant 'Omicron', the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has also postponed the schools reopening plan to December 10.
Meanwhile, schools in the rest of the state will reopen for classes 1 to 7 from Wednesday, December 1.
