Karnataka: Dozen students of school in Kolar taluk test positive for Covid-19

KOLAR: A dozen students of class 9 in Chinmaya High School, Kolar, have tested positive for Covid-19 and, as a precautionary measure, the school has closed for a week. Authorities have also taken steps to sanitise the campus during the break.
Six students of two other schools in Kolar taluk also tested positive, leaving parents of schoolgoing children jittery.Only last week, the government had allowed schools to function at 100% capacity.
According to Chinmaya school authorities, health department officials conducted swab tests of nearly 400 students of both classes 9 and 10. Results which were released on Sunday showed 12 of them were infected with the novel coronavirus. Since all the infected students were asymptomatic, they were advised home quarantine by health authorities, a school official said.
The official, however, clarified that no teacher was a primary contact of any of the infected students. The official said the school had taken all precautions to prevent any further surge in cases of Covid among its students.
Meanwhile, SG Nagesh, Kolar deputy director of public instruction, said education department officials visited the school. They have convened a meeting of parents of the infected students to counsel them on taking care of their children. He said managements of other schools in the district have been advised to adhere to all Covid related guidelines.
Dr Charini, district surveillance officer said, though 12 cases were reported in one particular school, there is no reason for concern as health authorities have stepped up testing among schoolgoing children. Dr Charini said samples of over 1,000 schoolgoing children are collected every day on average and sent for testing.
Incidentally, a cluster outbreak was reported in a nursing college in KGF taluk on August 30. The cases were attributed to students returning from Kerala, a Covid-19 hotspot. Initially, 32 students tested positive, but the number went past 80 in subsequent days as more tests were conducted.