The number of Covid-19 cases at a residential school hostel in Karnataka’s Chikkamagalur district increased to 107 on Monday, IANS reported.
Till Sunday, 59 students and 10 staff members at the school, the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, had tested positive for the virus, according to ANI. On Monday, 38 more cases were detected.
Health officials are now present at the school to oversee the coronavirus situation and treat the children who have been infected. The health department has sent samples of 418 students and all the staff members for testing.
Karnataka Education Minister BC Nagesh said that he will visit residential schools in Chikkamagaluru on Tuesday or Wednesday. He added that strict action will be taken against school administrators if Covid-19 guidelines are not followed, according to IANS.
The school has been temporarily sealed after the cluster of infections were reported.
On Saturday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said that coronavirus cases were either appearing in schools or educational institutions. He had also said that three positive cases would comprise a cluster. Earlier, a cluster would comprise 10 coronavirus patients from an apartment or an area.
Meanwhile, 42 children aged above five years have tested positive for the virus in the past ten days in Tumakuru district, IANS reported. These were among 154 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in the same period.
Among the children who tested positive are 18 boys and 24 girls, District Health Officer Nagendrappa said.
On Monday, a cluster of coronavirus cases was also reported from Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences in Telangana’s Karimnagar district, where 43 students tested positive.
The students had gathered to attend several events last week as a part of their annual day celebration, a health official had told PTI. The college has been temporarily shut and more staff members and students are being tested.
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