Bengaluru: The district authorities have sealed Sri Chaitanya Girls’ Residential School in Bengaluru after 60 of its students tested positive for Covid-19. Of those who tested positive, only two are said to be symptomatic. Bengaluru Urban District Commissioner J Manjunath said the students tested positive on September 26. The Covid-19 tests were conducted on 480 students as one of the students from Bellary developed Covid-like symptoms. The symptomatic students had been admitted to hospital and the rest quarantined at a proper medical facility, the DC was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Worried parents and guardians have called asking if they can take their children back home, but Manjunath stressed that there was no cause for worry. “This is a boarding school… students were there for one month. When they came to the school, they had no symptoms. Out of the 60 who tested positive (on Sunday evening) only two are symptomatic. Our team is there… we have tested everyone,” he said.
The girls who tested positive are from Classes 11 and 12. Forty-six students, who tested positive belong to different districts of Karnataka and 14 students came from Tamil Nadu. There are also 22 teachers, 57 staff members working in the residential school. The development has come as a big worry for the Karnataka Health and Education department as the B S Bommai government prepares to open primary classes soon.
Manjunath said that 105 RAT (rapid antigen tests, the less reliable kind) and 424 RT-PCR (considered the more accurate COVID-19 test) had been carried out, and that a team of medical and government officials had been stationed at the quarantine centre housing the students. “We’ll conduct a re-test on the seventh day. The school has been closed till October 20. There is no cause for worry, this is a proactive measure,” he added.
Karnataka recently allowed schools to open for in-person classes for Standard 6 to 8, while requiring students and staff to follow strict COVID-19 safety protocols. Only schools in taluks where the positivity rate is below two per cent were allowed to re-open. Under the new rules students had to submit a consent letter from parents or guardians to attend the in-person classes, and these were not compulsory since online classes continue to be held. In-person classes for students from Class 9 to Class 12 had been allowed from August 23, and all in-person classes from Class 6 onwards can be held at full strength.
(With inputs from agencies)
source https://www.india.com/karnataka/60-girls-of-bengaluru-school-test-covid-positive-boarding-facility-shut-till-20-october-4994809/
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