After reaching a global record high of 4.14 lakh infections on May 7, India has seen a decline in new COVID cases in recent weeks. Concerns have been raised that a third COVID wave is expected to hit the country shortly, just as several states come out of lockdown.

NITI Aayog’s Dr VK Paul answered questions regarding the reopening of schools at the Health Ministry’s briefing on Friday, amid worries that the third wave might harm children.

“A lot of things need to be considered while deciding on the reopening schools. This is a question that keeps coming up,” he told reporters.

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He said that a variety of variables must be examined before making a decision, saying: “As vaccination coverage widens, teachers get vaccinated, we change habits and implement social distancing in everyday lives… there should come a time when this can happen.”

“But we should also remember that in many countries schools reopened then outbreaks were reported and they had to shut them down again. We don’t want to put our children and teachers in that situation unless we have more confidence that the pandemic won’t harm us. Discussion on reopening of schools remains a part of the larger discourse but information that seroprevalence remains equal among children will be useful data,” he went on to add, suggesting that more data should be taken into account.

The CBSE board examinations for Class 12 were cancelled earlier this month.

“The health and safety of our students is of utmost importance and there will be no compromise on this aspect,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office said in a statement. The CBSE announced on Friday that it is working on a mechanism to assist schools in preparing Class 12 results and that schools should have student data on hand.

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One of the main worries as many states prepare for the third wave is ramping up vaccination efforts. According to the government, research indicates that getting vaccinated reduces the incidence of COVID-19-related hospitalization by 70-80%.

The third wave might strike India in the next six to eight weeks, according to AIIMS chief Dr Randeep Guleria, who spoke to NDTV today.