E-Paper
Odisha CM warns of lockdown after over 30 school kids test positive for Covid-19
Patnaik said Covid-19 cases are increasing in different places, therefore there is a need to follow the Covid-19 guideline strictly.
Warning of a possible return of lockdown, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said people have to follow Covid-19 guidelines as the children are still unvaccinated. The chief minister’s statement came after over thirty children in three schools of the state tested positive for Covid-19.
While reviewing the Covid-19 situation of the state, Patnaik said that from America to Kerala the Covid-19 cases are increasing in different places, therefore there is a need to follow the Covid guideline strictly.
“As the children have not been vaccinated yet, we have to be careful for them,” he said, adding that the educational institutions would be held responsible if reports of negligence come to the fore. He also directed the local administration to form special teams to inspect the educational institutions regularly.
Patnaik’s warnings came on the day when about thirty four school students from three different schools in Dhenkanal, Bargarh and Angul were detected with Covid-19. Kanapura High School in Kamakhyanagar area of Dhenkanal district was closed for a week days after twenty people, including fourteen students, tested positive. In a private school in Bargarh district, 14 students tested positive in the last two days while in Angul district two students were found infected with the virus.
Odisha school and mass education minister Samir Dash said the investigation is on to find out how did the school students get infected. “After receiving the reports, we have launched a probe into the matter. We are in touch with the CDMOs and we will take immediate action as necessary. We are following the COVID guidelines strictly and if required, we will shut the schools where cases have been detected,” said Dash.
Odisha had allowed the opening of schools for classes of 10 and 12 from July 26 and classes 9 and 11 from August 16 with adherence to Covid guidelines. However, attendance has not been made mandatory in these classes and schools have been asked to continue with online classes for those who don’t want to attend.
The internal assessments for students of classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 in academic session 2021-22 will be done in the form of formative assessments which will be held in the first week of September, November, January and March (second week).
On Monday, around 20 per cent of the total Covid cases in Odisha were reported in children below 18 years of age. However, the numbers came down to 14.5 per cent on Tuesday.
Odisha director of medical education and training Dr CBK Mohanty said parents need to ensure that their children do not contract Covid-19 infection. “If their children have symptoms like cold, cough or fever, they should consult doctors without hesitation, else the situation may turn dangerous,” he said.
