51 test Covid positive at Ahmednagar school
School campus declared containment zone; all positive samples sent for genome sequencing
PUNE: The number of Covid cases at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Ahmednagar district near Pune has gone up to 51. These include 48 students and three teachers, officials from the local administration said.
Last week, 19 students from the residential school in Parner tehsil had tested positive for the infection. Following the detection of Covid among 51 patients, district administration sent their samples for genome sequencing to ascertain if the virus they have contracted is the new Covid variant known as Omicron, said Ahmednagar District Collector Rajendra Bhosale. “We have sent samples of these positive patients to National Institute of Virology Pune for genome sequencing to ascertain if they are affected with Omicron,” said Bhosale.
Officials said most of the students and teachers are asymptomatic. “All the students and teachers who have tested positive have been isolated and hospitalised. Most students are asymptomatic and their health is stable,” said Dr Prakash Lalge, health officer, Parner taluka.
Last week, 19 students from the school had tested positive.
A teacher from Navodaya Vidyalaya said 15 students who are showing mild symptoms have been kept in a separate room and are under observation. The school has 400 students from Class 5 to 12. According to the administration, all the students and staff members had to undergo RT-PCR tests and some of the reports are awaited.
Following the large number of patients getting infected with Covid, the administration sealed the premises of school, which also has hostel facilities, by declaring it as a containment zone.
District Collector Bhosale, who visited the school on Sunday,
said, “As a precautionary measure, we have deployed a medical team comprising a doctor and two nurses to monitor other students in the campus (in case they develop any symptoms). Since we have declared the school premises as a containment zone, no outsiders are allowed there.”
Bhosale said some parents wanted to take their wards home and they have been told a decision on this would be taken after the students complete the quarantine period. The school, part of the Navodaya Vidyalaya network which comes under the Union education ministry, is located at Takali Dhokeshwar village in Ahmednagar district.