Image used for representational purpose
BENGALURU: Karnataka’s COVID-19 Technical Advisory Committee has recommended that the state government reopen childcare centers or ‘Shishupalan Kendras’ in Bengaluru. The move was proposed at a meeting on Tuesday during which the committee members discussed the daily fresh infections, number of hospitalizations and mortality in Bengaluru.
“There was a proposal from the government to discuss the setting up of ‘Shishupalan Kendras’ run by the government,” TAC sources said. “Given the current scenario of third wave, though cases are increasing, the rate of hospitalization is less than 6%. Reopening such childcare centers will help working women, hence we have made this recommendation. ,
Sources said that the positivity rate among children in Bengaluru is 10% and pediatric admission is only 2%. “For children to be sent to childcare centres, the child must be yumptomatic and the children must receive both doses of the vaccines,” the sources said.
The members also discussed the challenges of reopening schools for classes 1-9 in Bengaluru, and it was decided to review the matter again after a week. Schools were closed in the capital following a surge in cases. However, academics and school management have criticized the government saying that education is not a priority for the state as almost every other sector has been allowed to function.
“We need to watch the trend for at least one more week and do further analysis before taking a decision on whether to allow schools to reopen,” the TAC members said.
The committee has also recommended – again – that the government allow home isolation for international travelers who test positive for COVID on arrival, if they are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. While a similar recommendation was made on January 22, as earlier reported by TOI, the government ignored it as the Centre’s guidelines on the issue did not explicitly mention home isolation for international travelers who test positive on arrival.
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