BMC shelves plan to reopen Mumbai schools from Monday amid second COVID-19 wave; classes may start after 31 Dec

All schools under the jurisdiction of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will remain closed till 31 December in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases. The schools were earlier scheduled to reopen on 23 November."The decision has been taken in the wake of rise in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai. Schools will not reopen on 23 November," said Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar to ANI.BMC officials have said the decision was taken in the wake of a possible second wave of the pandemic sweeping through the city.However, schools in other cities of Maharashtra can reopen as per schedule taking into account local conditions and the prevailing pandemic situation, the official said.Schools in Maharashtra, which have remained shut since March due to the coronavirus outbreak, were set to reopen for Classes 9 to 12 from 23 November post-Diwali-holidays with all COVID-19 safety protocols in place."COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the city. Some schools were used as testing and quarantine facilities amid the pandemic," said the senior official from the school education department.If there are no cases or very few infections, then local authorities such as municipal commissioners or district collectors are empowered to reopen schools, he added.After recording 409 new coronavirus cases on 16 November, the lowest daily count since April, the city registered 541, 871 and 924 fresh infections on 17, 18 and 19 November respectively.Recording the highest daily count so far this week, Mumbai's tally rose to 2,72,449 on Thursday. The COVID-19 toll in the city went up to 10,624 with 12 new fatalities.Maharashtra's COVID-19 caseload climbed to 17,63,055 on Thursday after additional 5,535 new infections were reported, a state health official said.The with the virus claiming 154 more lives, the fatality count in the state reached 46,356. At least 5,860 patients were discharged during the day taking the total number of recoveries to 16,35,971.The state currently has 79,738 active cases, the official said. So far 99,65,119 COVID-19 tests have been conducted.The Mumbai division, which consists of Mumbai city and satellite towns, reported 1,913 new infections, raising the region's case count to 6,11,559. A total of 18,441 people have died so far in the region, the official said.With inputs from PTI