Covid infection among school students sets alarm bells ringing for parents

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, November 18

Covid infection among school students has set the panic bells ringing for parents who were planning to send their wards to the school.

As many as 72 students of various government and private schools in Rewari and 11 students in Jind district have been found Covid positive.

In Rewari, 19 students at Government Senior Secondary School in Kund town have been found Covid positive, while 6 cases have been reported from Government Senior Secondary School at Pali village. Eight teachers too, have tested positive Jind. The schools had been opened for students of classes VIII to XII.

“A sense of insecurity and fear prevails among the parents after the Covid cases were reported in schools. My son studies in Class XII and he had been going to the school regularly for past few days, but now I will not let him go till the vaccine for Covid comes in the market," said Sanjay, a businessman.

Parveen, another parent, said though the school was maintaining social distancing and following other standard operating procedures but he would not take risk by sending his daughter to school. “She has been asked to study at home as children attending school are at risk after the emergence of several covid cases in the past couple of days,” he added.

According to sources the number of students in many government and private schools in the district had dropped after the news of Covid cases spread. However, Rewari District Education Officer (DEO) Rajesh Kumar denied any drop in the number of students and added that all schools in the district were being sanitised in order to prevent the spread of Covid infection.

“Only 25 students have been found Covid positive in the past two days, while other cases had actually surfaced over the past fortnight. The government schools in Kund and Pali villages have been shut for the next 15 days. All the affected students are asymptomatic,” he claimed.

Rewari Deputy Commissioner Yashendra Singh said all Covid positive students had been isolated and health officials had been directed to ensure testing of Covid in all government schools.

Dr Vijay Prakash, Nodal Officer (Covid), Rewari, informed samples of 837 students of 12 government and private schools had been taken this week and as many as 72 had been found Covid positive, while the report of 225 students were still awaited.