Maharashtra School Reopening: Government takes BIG decision as COVID-19 fear looms

Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government, on Wednesday,  further eased COVID-19 restrictions in the state, allowing malls, restaurants, bars, hotels, gymnasiums, salons, beauty parlours, and all shops to remain open till 10 pm. 

Under the revised rules, though the 50 percent condition is retained for restaurants dine-in, parcel delivery is allowed for 24 hours. The schools in the state were also all set to reopen from August 17, however, the Maharashtra government has postponed it for now, following a meeting of the COVID-19 Task Force, officials said here on Thursday.

To make a decision about reopening schools, a meeting was called, chaired by Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte and attended by Task Force members, education and health department officials as well as a few district collectors.

In the meeting, it was decided that while some of the schools in rural areas, where there is no threat from coronavirus will continue to function, all the other schools in Maharashtra will not restart from August 17 as was planned earlier.

Schools have been shut in the state since March 2020. The decision was taken keeping in mind that since there is no vaccination available for the children who could be vulnerable to COVID-19, the decision on reopening the schools should not be taken immediately.

The matter is now going to be discussed with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who would take a final call on the issue. Notably, offline classes from Class 7 to Class 12 are allowed with restrictions and COVID-19 protocols, but students in the lower classes will not be able to return to schools until further orders.