Covid Scare in Bhubaneswar Schools

Insight Bureau: The Covid-19 scare gripped two more schools in the State on Thursday, December 9, 2021.

10 teachers in Kendriya Vidyalaya-1 and two students of Capital High School in Bhubaneswar tested positive for Covid-19.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) began COVID testing at all educational institutions, especially schools that reopened recently for offline classes, in three zones on Wednesday.

A total of 372 students of Capital High School had undergone the test. Among them, samples of two Class IX students were found infected. They have been kept in isolation, sources said.

The government has allowed physical classes for students of VI to XII in the state. The attendance of students in higher classes has been better than junior classes. Moreover, better attendance has been observed in government-run schools compared to private schools in the city.

Attendance in city schools has started to drop following the detection of Covid-19 cases in several educational institutions across the state last week.

The attendance of students was around 30% in private schools but in the last few days it has dropped further. “As online classes are going on and it is not mandatory to attend offline classes, children prefer virtual study. The attendance has become thinner in the last few days,” said a teacher in a private school in the city.

Doctors have suggested well-ventilated classrooms, physical distancing, mandatory masks, vaccinated teachers and staff, and adherence to hygiene protocols at schools

Amid the concerns for Omicron variant, the rising Covid cases in educational institutions in the State has come as a setback for the State government which was planning for graded resumption of classes of all schools.

Meanwhile, the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) on Thursday asked the authorities in all districts to take necessary precautionary measures to ensure safety of students and arrange Covid testing facilities at schools and colleges.