THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state’s surveillance, prevention, and control strategies against the novel coronavirus (nCoV) have come in for praise from the Centre, but uncertainty prevails over the status of students who are in isolation. Though the state health department put 2,435 persons under home isolation for 28 days, it remains clueless on the number of school and college-going students who have been home quarantined. With exams round the corner, the state government is yet to bring clarity on how these students would prepare and attend the exams.
“This is a pressing issue. The state rapid response team (RRT) headed by Health Minister K K Shailaja had discussed it. But it has limitations in taking a decision. A final word should come from the government,” said a member of RRT.
Dr V Meenakshi, additional director of health services, Public Health, said: “As the government has declared nCoV a state-specific calamity, the health principal secretary is in the process of preparing advisories for each department. There is an advisory for students also. The question regarding the exam might get answered in it.” She added that the surveillance team was on the job to collect the data of students in home quarantine.
Meanwhile, in the advisory released by the nCoV Outbreak Control and Prevention State Cell for students on Wednesday, it has been vaguely mentioned that the education department would issue appropriate instructions from time to time regarding exams and others. The other recommendation pitched is to have education department hold a meeting with the stakeholders for capacity building. The government had earlier decided to grant attendance to those school-going or college-going students who get quarantined.
However, the health department itself points out that a rigorous campaign was needed as the possibility of discriminating and deriding students who had to undergo home isolation were high. Such students should also be provided psychological support.