136 schools students test positive in 2 days in Jalandhar district

 Aparna Banerji

 Tribune News Service

 Jalandhar, March 5

 At last 136 students from private and government schools have tested positive in the past 24 hours – clearly indicating schools are a hot bed of Covid infections. At least 86 students from government and private schools tested positive yesterday and 50 more students have tested positive today. These 50 are among 177 new cases that have been reported in the district today — taking the district’s total tally today to 22,256.

Closure of eight district schools has been ordered by the DEO for the next 48 hours. Majority of those tested positive today are also from the same schools that had figured in the list yesterday.

 On Thursday, schools at Lamma Pind, Bhogpur, Basti Sheikh, Meritorious School, Govt school PAP, Kanha Dhesian, Phillaur and Deep Nagar saw positive cases being reported. Majority of these students tested positive from the government girls school, Phillaur – which saw 38 posiitve students on Wednesday. At the St. Josephs School Deep Nagar – 10 teachers tested positive yesterday.

 Some of these school have been getting positive cases earlier too — the government school Kanha Dhesian saw five students test positive previously and a student and teacher tested positive on Thursday. While at the meritorious school also, 10 students had tested positive on February 25. At the Basti Sheikh school two students had previously tested positive.

 DEO (Secondary), Harinder Pal said, “The closure of eight schools where students and/or teachers have tested positive has been ordered. The hostel of the meritorious school will also similarly remain closed until sanitisation. These will remain closed for 48 hours. It is not necessary that the infections were received at the school. Many of the students got the infections elsewhere.”

 Asked whether the need was felt to close the schools in view of the reports of infections among children, the DEO said, “The affected schools have been ordered to be closed but the rest will remain open.”

 Meanwhile, teachers and parents of students at affected schools remain a worried lot. The Government Girls Senior Secondary School Phillaur one of the most prestigious schools in Jalandhar has strength of 1,300 students and a class has 50 to 60 students who have been attending classes since the pre-boards in February end.

 Sources at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School Phillaur said, “Students were sitting together in classes of 50 to 60. They were maintaining social distancing but in a class of 50 to 60 students we don’t know how many might be affected. The attendance had increased since the pre-boards that had to be conducted offline. So, all students except those ill or very sick had to come. There is fear among staff and students’ parents as we don’t know who else might be affected. The schools should remain closed for a period of 15 days.”

 Some teachers at other government schools have also started proceeding on leave due to the fear of infections.

 District Nodal officer, Covid, Dr. TP Singh said, “There is certainly a rise in cases but in Jalandhar were are also carrying out very intensive contact tracing. As many as 51 students have tested positive today. Intensive contact tracing is taking place in the district and we are also intensifying contact tracing to cover as many students and trace maximum contacts.”