COVID-19: 2 Noida schools shut after Delhi man tests positive

Parent of students had travelled to Italy; schools fumigated

In this handout photo provided by ITBP, a Chinese boy undergoes screening tests for the novel coronavirus at an ITBP quarantine facility in Chhawla, New Delhi on March 1, 2020.

Two private schools in Noida were shut on on Tuesday after the father of one of their students tested positive for coronavirus. The patient from Mayur Vihar in Delhi, who had travelled to Italy recently and tested positive on Monday , was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.

One of the schools where the Delhi man’s son is a primary student, said it will remain shut from March 4 to March 6, while the other said it will be closed till Saturday. The Board exams will not be affected, messages sent by the schools to parents clarified.

Information that the infected man had hosted a birthday party last week for the child, triggered fears that those who attended it including other children and relatives, might be at risk. Samples from five students from the school have been collected, Noida’s Chief Medical Officer Anurag Bhargava said.

Fumigation was undertaken in both the schools and a Health Department team led by Noida’s chief medical officer visited the site, an official said.

Several people, including family members of the Delhi man, were quarantined or kept in isolation.

The Health Ministry said that following the Delhi case it has appealed for the passengers who flew on AI1-54 Vienna-Delhi on Feb 25 to follow protocol notified by the Ministry of Health regarding coronavirus “as one of the passengers has tested positive for the virus”.

“The Health Ministry is also working out detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for COVID-19 management in private hospitals,” a government release said.

UP health minister Jai Pratap Singh noted that a total of 34 samples have been sent for testing to NIV, Pune. “These persons were reportedly in contact with the Delhi patient. This includes six persons from Agra who were found to be in the “high-risk category” and had tested “positive” in the KGMU (King George Medical University) laboratory but their samples have been sent for re-confirmation to the NIV, Pune,” Mr. Singh said. The six have been transferred from Agra and admitted to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi, he added.

The 69-year-old Italian’s wife also tested positive for the virus on Tuesday but her samples are being sent to Pune for another test. The couple has been kept in isolation at the Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital.