Public health experts from Maharashtra have called out the State COVID-19 Task Force’s stand of not reopening schools for being unscientific and taken without having a public health expert on the team. The Jana Arogya Abhiyan (JAA) — a coalition of organisations active in the community health sector — has been talking about the need to reopen schools now, even for primary levels. 

We are shocked that the expert task force in Maharashtra has opposed the education department’s decision to restart schools. Such a decision should be taken on the basis of the science of public health. But the task force does not have any public health expert,” stated an open letter issued by the Jana Arogya Abhiyan (JAA). The JAA has demanded that the task force’s report be made public.