NOIDA: A third of the new Covid cases reported in Noida on Thursday were from the below 18 years category. While the numbers remained low - of the 44 fresh cases added in the past 24 hours, 15 were minors - schools and health department officials underlined the need to ramp up vaccination of all eligible children in the 12-14 age group so that offline classes that have commenced after a gap of two years are not disrupted.
Forty-five children have tested positive for the viral infection in the city over the last five days, of them, prompting parents' associations to criticise the hastiness in recalling students back to campus instead of a gradual return that is calibrated to vaccine coverage.
On Thursday, chief medical officer Dr Sunil Sharma said schools should report any students or staff with Covid-like symptoms to the integrated command control centre. "While we are increasing the vaccination coverage through additional campaigns, all schools and residential societies must keep the number of the integrated command control centre - 18004192211 - handy. The number can be used to report any individual with Covid-like symptoms and ensure sample testing immediately," he said. Health officials, meanwhile, claimed that in most of the cases reported recently, children were found unvaccinated.
Efforts, the CMO said, are being strengthened to increase the vaccine coverage in the 12-14 and 15-17 age groups. The official added 68 samples have been sent to Delhi's Genome and Integrative Biology laboratory for genome sampling so far. "The results are expected in the next two to three days," the CMO said.
The district, currently, has over 121 active cases, which is almost double the number of cases - 66 - reported since April 1.
In neighbouring Ghaziabad, of the total 18 new cases reported on Thursday, four were minors. Nine new cases were in the 21-40 group and five in the 41-60 years category.
According to a report issued by the district health department, St Francis School has reported one more Covid infection in a student in the last 24 hours. After the first student tested positive on April 10, the school authorities had decided to shut the campus for offline classes for three days.
Delhi Public Schools in Vasundhara and Indirapuram, and Gurukul - The School, too, have reported one positive case each in the past 24 hours, the health department report stated.
With a rise in cases, Ghaziabad chief medical officer Dr Bhavtosh Shankdhar instructed all schools to set up Covid help desks and take measures to adhere to protocols for testing. "Vaccination drives will be increased in schools from Monday," he said.
