A teacher attached to the Government High School at Periyanesalur near here has tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. With this, four teachers in the district have tested positive so far since the reopening of schools on September 1.
According to an Education Department official, the History teacher, handling students of classes 9 and 10 had attended the school on Wednesday. She did not attend school for the next two days and her swab sample was collected on Thursday after her neighbour tested positive.
The test results returned positive on Saturday. The teacher has been admitted to the Cuddalore Government General Hospital.
Health Department officials said the staff room in the school had been disinfected. The Department will be screening students and staff who had attended school on Wednesday.
College student in Thanjavur tests positive
A college student hailing from a village in Thanjavur taluk has tested positive for COVID-19.
According to sources, the young woman is pursuing her final year in B.Com at a women’s arts college in Thanjavur. An sample was taken from her on September 1 when the college reopened.
She did not turn up for classes on Friday. On Saturday morning, she rang up her class lecturer and said she had tested positive for novel coronavirus. Her classmates and students of other courses have been advised to undergo testing before coming to the college on Monday, sources said.
Teacher in Tiruppur tests positive
A teacher working at a government school within the Tiruppur Corporation limits tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, becoming the first case to be reported from a school in Tiruppur district after the reopening of schools.
According to officials from the Health Department, the 34-year-old teacher, working at Municipal High School in Nesavalar Colony, visited the school on Wednesday when the schools reopened. She experienced fever and sore throat and isolated herself in a separate classroom and did not interact with any teachers and students, the officials said.
The same day, the teacher visited the Urban Primary Health Centre in Nesavalar Colony, where her swab sample was lifted. The teacher did not report to the school from Thursday and had left for Madurai, officials said. On Saturday, her test results confirmed that she was positive for COVID-19. Following this, the Health Department lifted the swab samples of 30 faculty members of the school and closed the classroom where she had self-isolated as part of precautionary measures. Further decisions will be taken based on these test results, according to the officials.
Tiruppur Chief Educational Officer R. Ramesh told The Hindu on Saturday that all schools in the district have been instructed to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols issued by the State government. “Any teacher or student experiencing symptoms [of COVID-19] must avoid going to their respective schools,” he said. Around 195 class IX students and 179 class X students were studying in Municipal High School in Nesavalar Colony, he noted
