HYDERABAD: Dispelling fears of students contracting Covid-19, Telangana Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao, on Monday, said that it was safe to send children to school. Speaking to the media, he said that Covid had not affected school-going children as feared. “From the day the schools were reopened, around 1.10 lakh kids studying in 3,200 schools across the State were tested and just 55 of them tested positive for the virus, which means the test positivity rate is less than 0.05 per cent among these children,” he pointed out.
He contended that only sporadic cases were reported from schools across the State and that there were no instances of any outbreak. “We have taken due caution while operating schools. We have asked each district to monitor children. This has helped us nip any infection in the bud. It has been about a fortnight since schools have been reopened and we would like to assure parents that their kids are safe,” he said.
The DPH also stated that children are naturally shielded from Covid-19 due to lack of ACE receptors onto which the virus latches itself. Speaking about students’ attendance, he said: “In government schools, around 50 per cent of the students are attending classes, while the attendance is about 20-30 per cent in private schools.”
IT FIRMS ENCOURAGED TO RESUME WORK FROM OFFICE
Hyderabad: Encouraging IT employees to rejoin work from office, Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao said that just as schools have begun functioning, tech companies can also reopen their offices. “With their reopening, several allied services like cabs, roadside eateries and sanitation services will be supported. It is a safe time for the IT industry to reinstate the work-from-office system as the caseload is low in the GHMC region and nearly 100 per cent of the population are vaccinated with at least one dose. We have saturated the community with vaccines,” he said. He stressed that as long as companies ensured means of social distancing and masking, there was no visible threat