It’s back to school in Pune even as swine flu toll rises

Toddler dies in Pune, two more deaths in Gujarat and Karnataka as country-wide toll climbs to 72; over 100 fresh cases also reported

PUNE/BANGALORE/RAJKOT:

A toddler and two middle-aged persons have succumbed to swine flu in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, pushing the pandemic toll to 72 even as schools and colleges in Pune, shut due to the spurt in the infection, reopened on Monday after nearly two weeks.

Over 100 more fresh cases of flu infection were reported from various states on Sunday, Union Health Ministry officials said in Delhi.

Meanwhile, schools and colleges in Pune reopened on Monday after almost two weeks of closure effected by the authorities to prevent spread of the flu virus.

Seven Pune ICSE schools, however, announced they will continue the swine flu break for another week and will reopen this month-end. Among the seven schools are Bishops School, St Mary’s School, St Helena’s School.

The two-and-a-half year-old child, who was suffering from a liver disorder, was admitted to the Command Hospital in worst-hit Pune on August 21 after she tested positive for the virus, health officials said.

She passed away last night, they said. With the toddler’s death, the toll in Pune has risen to 23 and in Maharashtra to 39.

A 50-year-old woman, Sarojamma, was admitted to Thirumala Hospital in Bangalore on August 15 and given Tamiflu treatment but she died on Sunday night, hospital sources said.

52-year-old Rajesh Udhad, who was admitted to Wockhardt Hospital in Rajkot on August 20 after he showed flu symptoms like fever, breathlessness and vomiting, died on Monday morning, raising the virus toll in Gujarat to seven.

With the two deaths, fatalities due to the disease has climbed to 72. This includes Karnataka with 13, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh with three each, Delhi two and Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Haryana one each.

Students of Rosary High School in Pune Cantonment wear masks to school which reopened on Monday

MY THOUGHTS

We have been more and more prone to such epidemics in this decade compared to the last few. Schools should seriously consider developing a plan-B, on the line of home-schooling, which allows children to stay at home and continue learning during such events.

Schools are under tremendous pressure of completing the syllabus, but then is it wise to restart shcools and risk young lives for the sake of completing a few chapters on time!