22 students of Classes 10, 12 test positive for Covid before schools reopen in Haryana

Twenty-two students tested positive for Covid-19 in Hisar, Rohtak and Jhajjar districts of Haryana when they underwent the mandatory health check-up before schools reopened for Classes 10 and 12 on December 14, officials said.

Last week, the state government decided to reopen schools for students taking the board exams this Monday and for students of Classes 9 and 11 on December 21. The Haryana school education department asked students to submit a medical certificate before joining school.

Eighteen students of the Government Senior Secondary School at Kheri Barki village in Barwala sub division of Hisar were found infected with coronavirus on December 12.

Vinay Sethia, a health inspector at Barwala, said the matter came to light after school principal Gajanand Sharma requested the department to collect samples of students of the two classes at Kheri Barki village itself on December 12. “We collected the samples of 66 students. Of them, 18 tested positive. We have started sanitisation and infected students are in home isolation,” he said.

When contacted over phone, Sharma said: “Only those students who furnish the medical certificate will be allowed in school. No student came on Wednesday.”

It is learnt that two students each tested positive in Rohtak and Jhajjar districts.

Dadri deputy civil surgeon Dr Sanjay Gupta said: “We have collected the samples of 800 students and the report will be out by Thursday morning.”

A health official, requesting anonymity, said more than 30 students from Dadri and six from Jhajjar were in home quarantine after their body temperature was found higher than normal during thermal scanning at hospitals.