Covid-19 has begun to take hold of Gujarat yet again as the state reported 2265 new Covid-19 cases on January 4, bringing the state tally to 7881.
Surprisingly, this time, more and more number of cases reported are of students and the classes continue to operate offline despite this. Over a last few weeks, around 200 cases have been reported in different schools – out of which 45 cases registered are from Ahmedabad. However, there has been no official statement from the Education Minister Jitu Vaghani regarding resuming online classes.
Talking about the symptoms among children, Dr Priti Hemani says “The symptoms of Covid-19 among children and adults are similar. Mostly they have a cough, runny nose, headache, a few of them experience fever and fatigue.”
“The age group 15-18 that is part of the vaccination drive should immediately get vaccinated against Covid-19. The rest should strictly follow SMS – Social Distancing, Masking, Sanitizing,” she added.
Scenario of schools in Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot
In Surat, 27 students from schools Mahavir School, SD Jain, Luds Convent, JH Ambani, LP Savani Vesu and Pal, LPD School, Gurukul Vidyalaya, GD Goenka, Riverdale, Gajera, Litter Flower School and Gurukrupa Vidyalaya have been tested positive for Covid-19 today, bringing up the total tally to 111 cases.
All the schools of Surat have been instructed to immediately put a halt on offline classes.
About 45 students from schools – Udgam, Anand Niketan, Lotus, H B Kapadia, Sheth C N Vidyalaya, DPS Bopal, Maharaja Agrasen, Sattva Vikas have been infected with Covid-19 in the last few weeks.
In a school in Rajkot, 16 students tested positive for Covid-19 and the parents including the system lost their breath. In West and Central Rajkot, students between the ages of 7 and 18 have come under attack.
Government’s engagement in rallies
Recently a grand rally was organized in Rajkot by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and CR Patil which was attended by a large number of people. There was a clear violation of Covid guidelines since people attended the rally without masks and many did not even follow social distancing.
Vibrant Gujarat and Ahmedabad Flower Show
Although the WHO has raised concern over the new Covid variant, the government has been busy preparing for Vibrant for the last few days and is determined to move forward with it.
Similarly, a grand flower show is being organized by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation from January 8 to 22 which also poses a serious threat of Covid-19 spread.
Parents demand for online education
Witnessing the constant rise in number of students being infected with Covid-19, the concerned parents have placed a demand to begin online classes. However, there is no instruction regarding this from the state’s Education Minister. All schools are instructed to follow Covid-19 guidelines strictly.
It is worthy to note that many states including UP, Patna, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have halted offline classes for up to two weeks. While schools, colleges and universities will remain closed in West Bengal. Jharkhand and Haryana go a step further and close down the Library along with schools and colleges. In Odisha, the schools were supposed to resume classes but it has been postponed indefinitely.
