A total 338 students, including those coming from Kerala, have tested positive for COVID-19 since January. All the students were asymptomatic, said District Health and Family Welfare Officer Ramachandra Bairy here on Thursday.
Talking to reporters, Dr. Bairy said out of 1,752 students tested in March so far, 67 were positive. Of the 2,252 tested in February and 1,311 in January, 160 and 111 students respectively were found COVID-19 positive. Apart from students from private professional course degree and PU students, students from government PU and degree colleges in city have been tested positive.
A total of 8,347 persons from Kerala were tested since December 2020 and 425 tested positive. “There is no need to panic, but people should exercise precautions while in public areas,” he said.
Attributing the increased number of positive cases to relative increase in RT-PCR tests, Dr. Bairy said first round of testing of students from schools, colleges, medical, and paramedical courses was over and the second round of testing will shortly start. The hospitals were testing those with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness and Influenza Like Illness. Those suspected of COVID-19 infection, with comorbidities, primary and secondary contacts, were also being tested at the hospital.
As many as 19,050 senior citizens have taken the first dose of Covishield vaccine at the government and private health facilities in the district. “This was 9.4% of the target of 2,01,609 senior citizens in the district,” he said and added that the number was increasing every day. Government and private buses were being used to bring senior citizens to the vaccination centre, he said.
Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra and Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar were among the many frontline workers who received the second dose of the vaccine on Thursday. The two officials received the second dose at Ayush Speciality Centre of the Government Wenlock Hospital on Thursday. Dr. Rajendra and Mr. Kumar had received the first dose at the same venue on February 8.
