As experts rally for reopening schools in Maharashtra, state health officials say physical resumption of schooling is being postponed because the festival season coincides with the period the third wave is feared to strike. A senior state health official said the third wave is likely to hit between September and October, which is festival time in Maharashtra.

Reopening of schools will lead to exposure of young and non-vaccinated population to risk of contracting as well as spreading the infection. The decision to resume physical schooling has been deferred till the end of September 2021,” said the official. He added that a hasty decision to reopen schools without due preparations may precipitate the third wave.