September-October crucial in COVID management: Centre

A woman undergoes COVID test, in Jammu, on Thursday. Pic/PTI

The Centre on Thursday said the months of September and October will be crucial in pandemic management and cautioned that festivals be celebrated in accordance with COVID-appropriate behaviour.

Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, "The second surge is not yet over and therefore, we have to maintain all necessary precautions, particularly in light of our experience that after every festival we see a spike. The months of September and October are crucial for us because we would be celebrating a few festivals. Thus festivals have to be celebrated with COVID-appropriate behaviour."

ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said vaccines are disease modifying and not disease preventing so it is very important to continue the use of masks even after vaccination. The Centre said 41 districts were reporting a weekly positivity rate of over 10 per cent.

Meanwhile, Serum Institute of India has informed the Centre that it will be able to supply around 20 crore Covishield doses in September to the Union government and private hospitals, official sources said. It has so far supplied 12 crore doses in August.

MP private schools to protest for physical classes

At least 45,000 private schools affiliated to the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education will stage sit-in protests in the state from September 2 to demand reopening of schools for all classes. "The association is not going to suspend online or physical classes for students of Std IX 9 to Std XII," MP Private School Association chief Ajeet Singh said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, amid concerns of a possible third wave in coming months, parents in Delhi are divided over the plan to reopen schools.
An expert committee set up by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority has recommended a phase-wise reopening of schools in Delhi from September. While few believe it's high time schools are reopened as the learning loss is huge, others feel there is no harm in waiting for few more weeks or a month as experts have been warning of a possible third wave.

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