Mumbai: Will all children be back in schools? We will know in two weeks

Between October 21 and November 3, city saw 117 kids below 9 years and 363 children between 10 and 19 years testing positive

As infections among those under the age of 19 years remain steady even a month after schools reopened for senior students, the situation could pave the way for in-person classes for all children in the city. The population of Covid patients between 10 years and 19 years in October was 7.8 per cent, same as that in September, show BMC numbers.

While many parents are still anxious to give consent for the physical presence of their children in school, sources said, authorities might be encouraged to let schools conduct offline classes for all students. Following the nod from the state government, schools in Mumbai reopened on October 4 for Std VIII-XII students with 50 per cent capacity. Sources said the civic body will take a call on junior classes after Diwali vacation if cases among children do not rise.

As per BMC data, between October 6-20, the city saw 166 kids below 9 years and 445 children between 10 and 19 years testing positive. From October 21 to November 3, the number of cases further declined, with 117 kids below 9 years and 363 children between 10 and 19 years testing positive. The share of cases among children in October was 10.4 per cent with 1,235 cases. In September, before the reopening of schools, the numbers for the same set of children stood at 425 and 1,048 respectively and the under-19 category comprised 10.2 per cet of all cases in the city. As per Census data, Mumbai had 20,70,716 children between 10 and 19 years in 2012.

During the first wave, 18,094 children below 19 years were infected between March 2020 and February 2021. Their share of overall cases was 5.7 per cent. It rose to 13 per cent of all cases in June amid the second wave. Since then, it has hovered around 10 per cent. "The cases among all age groups have dropped in October and declined further in the first week of November. The same is reflected in the age group of 10 to 19 years," said a BMC official

"We are positive to reopen schools for all after Diwali vacation which will be over around November 18-20. So there is still a period of 14 days which are crucial to know about the situation. People are holding social gatherings during the festive season and if cases do not increase in the coming weeks, there is no problem in resuming schools for all," said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner of the BMC.