Punjab: Parents wary of sending kids to school amid the pandemic

Ludhiana (Punjab) [India], October 2 : Parents are worried about sending their children back to school from October 15 as per the latest guidelines on 'unlock 5' by the central government.
Amidst the growing rate of infections in the country, parents remain uncertain about the safety of their children at schools which will reopen from October 15 in a graded manner. "I welcome the Indian government's order but I appeal to them to reconsider the same. COVID-19 cases are rising without a vaccine. Social distancing will be impossible to maintain and observe in a school environment," said Rohit Puniyani, a Ludhiana parent.
Another parent hinted at the fear of schools becoming a possible hotspot since children often don't follow precautions religiously. "I have two kids, one in pre-nursery and the other one in the nursery class. Kids are often careless and don't follow rules. Reopening schools in the middle of a rising pandemic appear dangerous and might make them a hotspot for the virus," she said.
India reported a total of 81,484 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours with 1,095 deaths, even as it sustained the steady trend of keeping active cases below the 10-lakh mark for the eleventh consecutive day, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said on Friday.