Reports of schoolchildren testing positive for COVID-19 have begun streaming in from several areas of the district, sparking concern among parents and officials of the Education Department. Six students have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in various parts of the city and Agency areas of the district.
Four students of Zilla Parishad High School at Yellapuvanipalem in Gopalapatnam area tested positive for COVID-19 in the city on Thursday. All the students are learnt to be asymptomatic, according to officials.
District Medical & Health Officer (DMHO) Visakhapatnam, P. Surya Narayana, said that three days ago, students of the government school had undergone testing, and out of them four students tested positive.
“All the students are asymptomatic and are now in isolation at their homes. Testing is being done for their primary and secondary contacts,” Dr. Surya Narayana said.
GVMC officials are sanitising both the classrooms and the homes of the students at Yellapuvanipalem.
Meanwhile, two students from two different primary schools tested COVID-19 positive in G. Madugula mandal of Visakhapatnam district.
According to a senior medical officer from Paderu, a primary school student from Solabham village and another student from Kuneti village had tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
Mr. Surya Narayana said that on a daily basis, the health department is conducting tests on around 1,000 schoolchildren in various parts of district, covering all the schools. He said that if six or more students test positive from any school, the school will be closed for a brief period.
He also said that managements were informed to take adequate steps to check the spread of COVID-19. Awareness campaigns are also being organised in the schools on COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, he added.
Impact
Education Department officials opine that the rise in new COVID-19 cases in a couple of schools is likely to impact attendance in other schools in the coming weeks. While attendance was low in the first few days of reopening of the schools on August 16, the attendance percentage was slowly rising in the past few days.
Not just in the city, but students from districts like Vizianagaram and Chittoor had tested positive for COVID-19. Parents expressed concern over several schools not taking adequate COVID-19 precautions at the schools.
“Social distancing is being thrown to the wind at many schools. I initially sent my son to school for two days but later decided not to due to lack of safety measures over there,” said a parent.
According to Transport Department officials, most of the parents are opting to drop their children themselves at school. Not many buses of educational institutions are plying these days, said a senior officer.
Daily update
The district has reported 92 new cases in the last 24 hours ending Thursday morning, taking the cumulative tally to 1,55,149. The death toll stands at 1,071 as no COVID-19 death was reported in the last 24 hours.
During the same time period, as many as 66 persons who were undergoing treatment for the virus had recovered from the virus. The number of recoveries increased to 1,52,797. The active caseload stands at 1,281.
