23 govt school students, five teachers test positive in Kaithal

Twenty-three students and five teachers tested positive for Covid-19 at a government school in Kaithal on Sunday

Twenty-three students and five teachers tested positive for Covid-19 at a government school in Kaithal on Sunday.

Karnal has reported 11,738 cases so far and 156 people have succumbed to the infection (Representative Image/HT File)

As per the district health department, samples of 150 students and teachers was taken from Government Senior Secondary School, Kharka village, of Siwan Block. Kaithal chief medical officer Dr Om Prakash said all infected students had been isolated and the health department had also setup its own isolation ward for children incase they are unable to observe home isolation.

The chief medical officer (CMO) said most students were asymptomatic and a team of doctors was monitoring them. However, the development has parents and teachers worried as 162 reports are still pending.

Block education officer Satish Kakkar said samples of students were taken after a teacher tested positive recently. “There are 881 students in the school and the classes have been suspended. Now, samples of all students and their family members will be collected. Last week, several school-going students were found infected, including 57 students of Karnal’s Sainik School, 10 girl students of a private school in Kurukshetra and 18 students of government schools in Karnal.

New cases in Karnal

As virus cases continue to rise in the state, 267 new infections have been reported in the district over the last week, of which 75 were students. As many as 45 cases were reported on Sunday. Following a sudden rise in the new cases, especially among the students, Karnal deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav has issued directions to school authorities asking them to follow the instructions strictly. Karnal CMO Dr Yogesh Sharma also held an emergency meeting of the officials of the health department on Sunday and asked them to visit each school in their respective areas to raise awareness among students and teachers regarding the state government’s instructions. In the meeting, it was decided that around 2,000 to 2,500 samples will be collected.

Karnal has reported 11,738 cases so far and 156 people have succumbed to the infection. At present, there are 303 active patients in the district.