HASSAN: A 16-year-old student was found to be positive for COVID-19 while writing his SSLC exam at Mallipattana government high school in Arkalgud taluk in Hassan district on Saturday.
The boy who was reportedly suffering from dengue fever went to Arkalgud taluk hospital for treatment where samples of his throat swabs were collected for testing and sent to the designated COVID-19 hospital in Hassan on Friday.
The swab test report was sent to the taluk authority on Saturday following which officials rushed to the school in Mallipatana where the boy was writing the exam along with seventeen other students in the classroom.
Health staff took the student to the COVID hospital in Hassan after the exam. The boy's health condition and temperature were normal when he was thermally screened by staff of the education department at the examination centre.
Deputy commissioner Girish said the student is undergoing treatment at the hospital. He will take supplementary exams to complete the remaining subjects.
Girish said he had sent a report to the education commissioner seeking suggestions to take a decision on the remaining 17 students who wrote the exam along with the boy in the same classroom. Invigilators and staff deployed at the examination centre will also be home quarantined, he added.