Students and teachers of a school at Maranchery near Ponnani tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 en mass on Sunday.
Officials said 150 students and 34 teachers of Government Higher Secondary School, Maranchery, tested positive for the virus. However, none of them showed any symptoms.
As many as 684 students were subjected to tests following detection of the virus in a student. Officials said all of them were Standard 10 students.
The higher secondary students of the school will also be tested. The school has students from the neighbouring Thrissur district too.
All students have been asked to go into quarantine. The district medical authorities ordered all schools across the district to maintain vigil against the spread of COVID-19.
At a school at Vanneri, 39 students and 36 staff tested positive for the virus. The authorities were puzzled at the rate of spread of the virus in both the schools.
The district authorities asked the schools to strictly follow the COVID-19 protocol. They said students should maintain a minimum two-metre gap at school.
Those from homes with COVID-19 positive patients or people in isolation should not go to school until directed by the health authorities.
School premises, furniture, stationery, store rooms, water tanks, kitchen, canteens, toilets, labs, and library should be sanitised.
Tanks, wells, and other water sources should be sanitised with bleaching powder.
The authorities said old and stale food should not be used. Masks, digital thermometers, sanitisers, and soaps should be arranged at schools.
Physical distancing should be ensured both for students and teachers in classrooms and staff rooms, officials said.
Health check-ups should be done for teachers and students whenever needed. Physical distancing should be maintained in school buses too.
“Masks should be made compulsory on board school buses, and thermal screening should be done for students before boarding buses. Curtains should be avoided in buses, and windows should be left open,” the health authorities advised.
