‘COVID under control, no problem for 6 months’
The Hindu
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Scarred by the devastating effects of COVID-19 pandemic during the first and second waves, people from various walks of life are worried about the possibility of a third wave. Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao, however, has suggested that the coronavirus situation in the State is under control and that there is no problem for the “next six months”. Questioned about the basis of the estimation, the senior health officer cited the current positivity rate of 0.4%, R-Naught value (number of people a positive person can infect) of 0.5% in the State, low bed occupancy in hospitals, vaccination coverage and the way new variants have merged across the world as some of the factors. “There is no chance of a third wave until a new and strong variant emerges. If we continue our vaccination drive to cover a large section of people, chances of a strong variant emerging in coming days is low,” said Dr Srinivasa Rao.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.
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