COIMBATORE: Three employees of the Central Bank of India branch located on Avinashi Road near Peelamedu tested positive for Covid-19 recently.
The city corporation has established a containment zone surrounding the bank and advised customers who visited the branch to get tested if they develop symptoms of infection.
A higher official from the health department said, "The other staff are placed under home quarantine. They are vulnerable to the infection since they deal with customers on a daily basis."
A notice put up outside the branch read that the branch would remain closed till Saturday and advised the customers to visit nearby branches.
Sources added that this was the first time a bank turned into a cluster in the city. It is to be noted that nearly 10-12 people were working in the branch.
Teacher tests positive
A post-graduate (PG) teacher from Ondipudur Government Girls Higher Secondary School tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday afternoon. Sources said that the teacher showed fever symptoms a couple of days ago, following which she underwent the Covid-19 test.
The results of the test showed that she tested positive for the infection. School headmistress G Poorani Punithavalli said that top officials were informed immediately and that the school was declared closed for three days starting Wednesday as per their instructions. She added that a swab test would be done on teachers and students soon.
Meanwhile, a complaint stating that teachers and students in the school do not wear masks and maintain social distancing was raised. Tamil Nadu Government High and Higher Secondary School Teachers Association State treasurer T Arulandham urged top education officials to intensify monitoring of schools to check whether or not Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is followed to keep the infection in check. When contacted, a top education official in the district assured that the officials concerned would monitor the schools keenly.
Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation staff disinfected the school on Wednesday morning.
Vaccine stock arrives
The health department on Wednesday received the fourth consignment of around 15,000 Covishield doses to intensify the Covid-19 vaccination sessions in the district. The consignment also includes 10,000 doses that would be kept as buffer stock.
This comes as a relief to officials as the district slowed down the vaccination drive over the last few days due to vaccine shortage. The Apart batch also contained 8,000 doses for Erode, 7,000 for Tiruppur and 8,000 for The Nilgiris districts.
With fresh stock in, officials said they would intensify vaccination sessions in the district. Currently, the sessions are held at all government hospitals, primary health centres, and 79 private institutions in Coimbatore.