Schools are starting to reopen. Should parents be concerned about outbreaks of Covid-19?

Even with the more contagious Delta type, reopening schools is unlikely to generate a third Covid-19 wave or a major increase in adult cases, according to experts and scientific studies. The benefits of opening schools with precautions much exceed the risks, with the majority of India's youngsters having missed a year and a half of learning.

According to a review of studies, Covid-19 transmission in schools was restricted if precautions like as wearing masks, providing enough ventilation in classrooms, and preventing overcrowding were used. Despite the fact that the more transmissible Delta form has increased the frequency of Covid-19 cases in children under the age of 18 in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Lockdowns and school closures did not safeguard youngsters from becoming ill, according to children. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated that the risk of infection from children to adults is negligible. However, schools must ensure that all precautions, such as distance and mask-wearing, are followed, as well as that all adults are vaccinated.

"The notion of whether or not it is safe to reopen schools is false," Swapneil Parikh, an internal medicine doctor and author of The Coronavirus: What You Need to Know About the Global Pandemic, stated. "The issue is one of cost-benefit analysis. Closing schools has perhaps had the largest societal costs, with no clear concrete advantages.