64 school students in 2 Odisha hostels test Covid-19 positive

The Odisha government has asked district welfare officers to start testing and tracking for effective control of spread of Covid cases.

Published on: May 8, 2022, 02:13:16 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

BHUBANESWAR: At least 64 students in Rayagada district of Odisha have tested positive for Covid-19, the highest number of cases reported on a single day in about two months, prompting the health department to ask all district collectors to prepare micro planning to keep the rate of infection in check.

Odisha’s district welfare officers have been told to arrange masks for all students and teachers and ensure Covid appropriate behaviour (Biplov Bhuyan/HT File Photo)

District Welfare Officer of Rayagada, Ashok Satpathy said RT-PCR test of 257 tribal inmates of a hostel named ‘Anwesha’ in Kotlaguda area of Rayagada was conducted by the health department on May 4. Of the 257 boys, 44 tested positive. All of them are asymptomatic.

Namita Samal, the hostel’s matron said that following the detection of Covid cases, children who have tested positive were isolated from others. Students of eight English-medium schools of Rayagada stay in the hostel.

Similarly, 20 girl students of Hatmuniguda government high school in Bissamkatak block of the district have also tested positive for Covid-19.

The SC/ST department has asked the district welfare officers to start testing and tracking for effective control of spread of Covid cases, arranging treatment of both symptomatic and asymptomatic students and isolating positive cases in all department-run schools and hostels including the ANWESHA hostels.

It also asked the district welfare officers to arrange masks for all students and teachers and ensure social distancing and other Covid appropriate behaviour.

“There should be 100% health screening of all boarders in residential schools. A school-wise action plan should be prepared by the district welfare officrs for conduct of health screening of all student boarders by the ANMs of SSD Schools and health check teams of health and family welfare Department,” the department said in a letter.

Over the last month and an half, Odisha was reporting only 8-15 new cases every day.

Odisha health minister Naba Kishore Das said there was an increase in Covid-19 cases in some states and officials officials should put in place special measures for Covid screening and intensify surveillance.

“There is an increase in new Covid cases in Delhi and some other northern and southern states. Since hundreds of people are returning from Delhi and other states by trains and flights, we must enhance the screening measures and get all symptomatic people tested,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.