HYDERABAD: Thirty-six students aged between 13-15 years have tested positive for Covid-19 at a residential school near Hyderabad.
All the students who tested positive were from the Telangana Minorities Welfare Residential School in Keesara, which has over 165 students and 19 teachers.
It was learnt that the principal of the school rang up the local Primary Health Centre (PHC) on Monday after several children showed Covid symptoms. The PHC team rushed to the spot and everyone at the school underwent Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT). Thirty-six of these results turned out to be positive.
"At present all the children are stable. As this is a large building with five floors, all of them have been isolated on the fifth floor. A full-time medical camp has been set up to monitor positive and negative students with a 108 ambulance on standby in case of any complications. TIMS Gachibowli will be the hospital where anyone with complications will be shifted to," informed Dr Mallikarjun, DMHO of Malkajgiri-Medchal district.
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It is unclear how these students contracted the virus since the schools had reopened for ninth and tenth standard students back in February and the children had been housed inside. All the 19 teachers tested negative.
"We have already taken samples from those who tested negative in RAT and sent them for RTPCR tests. The results will reach us on Wednesday," the DMHO added.
Once the news spread, several parents came and insisted on taking their children back home. The school and health officials only allowed the students who had tested negative to return and have prescribed 14-day compulsory isolation at home for these children while also telling them to use masks.
The entire premises will now be further sanitised and kept under observation.