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Coronavirus scare: Fear among parents, kids as 2 Noida schools shut
The Shiv Nadar School in Sector 168 was also shut till March 9 to sanitise the premises.
Panic gripped parents of children studying in The Shriram Millennium School in Sector 135 after they came to know that three children from their school had attended a birthday party hosted by the Delhi resident who has tested positive for Sars-Cov-2, which leads to the novel coronavirus,
The school has been closed.
The Shiv Nadar School in Sector 168 was also shut till March 9 to sanitise the premises.
On Tuesday, health officials reached the Millennium school to sanitise its premises. They have placed six people including three children under quarantine (at their homes) after the health ministry got in touch with the parents of children who attended the party on February 27.
The school, in an email ,informed parents that a parent of a student had tested positive for the virus and that the school would be closed as a precautionary measure.
The school has asked all the parents to inform the ministry of health and family welfare on its 24x7 helpline number (+91-11-23978046) if they have developed any symptoms . Parents have been asked to maintain hygiene at home and to keep children at home if they are suffering a cold.
The school has declared a holiday till March 9. School authorities didn’t respond to text messages and calls seeking comment.
One of the children of the Delhi resident studies is in class 6 and other in class 1 of the school. Other children who attended classes with them and shared the school bus have been asked to take precautions.
The happenings in the school seemed to have spooked many Noida residents. The All Noida School Parents Association plans to meet the district magistrate on Wednesday to ask him to declare a holiday in other schools too. “Parents and children are really worried about the Coronavirus threat. We are going to request the DM to keep all the public schools closed for a few days to avoid panic among the parents,” said Yatendra Kasana, president, ANSPA.
While there are no cases reported at the Shiv Nadar School, it has decided to close until March 9.
“In the wake of the worldwide spread of COVID 19 -- the coronavirus, and detection of 2 cases in India (1 in Delhi), it has been decided to close the school until the 9th of March in order to sanitize our spaces as a proactive preventative measure,” read an email sent to the parents by principal Shashi Banerjee.
Dr Anurag Bhargava, chief medical officer of Gautam Budh Nagar said: “We have asked all the children who got in touch with the three others who attended the party to keep an eye on developing symptoms like cold, cough, fever and breathing issues. We have taken samples of only six persons including three children . Nobody else has been put under observation but people have been asked to take precautions. There is no need to panic.”
