It will be wise to open primary schools first before opening secondary schools: ICMR

Amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the director general of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Dr Balram Bhargava, said primary schools should be opened first before secondary schools in India. “We know clearly that children can handle viral infections much better than adults. Antibody exposure is also similar in children as adults. Some Scandinavian countries didn’t shut their primary schools in any Covid wave. So, once India starts considering opening schools, it will be wise to begin with the primary schools. Also, we have to ensure that all support staff members, be it school bus drivers or teachers, are vaccinated,” Bhargava said. The statement came on a day when ICMR’s nationwide serological survey revealed as many as two-thirds of the Indian population above the age of six have already been infected with the coronavirus. That still leaves about 40 crore people susceptible to the virus.