ROURKELA: With government and private schools including anganwadi centres not adhering to Covid-19 protocol, school children below 12 years of age without vaccine protection are seemingly vulnerable in Sundargarh.The district is witnessing a surge in Covid caseload but neither teachers nor the school staff are following face mask and hand hygiene norms.
Sources said the situation is alarming in kindergarten/play schools and anganwadi centres where the children aged between three and five had to be assisted for various activities but the staff and teachers rarely follow hand hygiene and face mask norms.
A parent of a kindergarten child in Rourkela also pointed to the non-adherence of safe practices on school premises and while dropping her child at school he feels helpless. A senior official of the Health & Family Welfare department admitted that Covid appropriate behaviour is not being followed at schools and children cannot be protected without community support.
Sundargarh Chief District Medical & Public Health Officer Dr. SK Mishra said Rashtriya Bal Swastha Karyakram (RBSK) teams are visiting schools to ensure adherence to Covid-19 guidelines. All schools have been instructed to strictly follow hand hygiene and wearing of masks. He said renewed thrust has been laid on vaccination of children between 12-18 years. On Saturday, the district’s test positivity rate (TPR) was 7.39 per cent and new daily infections were reported at 111.