A total of three Class IX students from a government school near Sulur in Coimbatore district tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first confirmed cases among students in the district since the reopening of schools.
Health Department officials said on Monday that the three 14-year-old boys were studying in Government High School, Sulthanpet.
On Saturday, a medical team from Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) school healthcare initiative collected around 30 swab samples of students from Classes IX and X in the school as part of its random sample collection exercise. Out of these, three turned out to be positive on Sunday, the officials said.
All three students were asymptomatic and were admitted at Government Medical College and ESI Hospital for observation. The school premises were disinfected on Monday and swab samples of teachers and parents of the students will be collected to test for COVID-19, according to the officials.
Coimbatore Chief Educational Officer N. Geetha said on Monday that the school will remain closed for three days till Wednesday for disinfection.
“The teachers from the school have been instructed to call up the students to check whether they or their parents have any symptoms,” she said. All schools in the district have also been instructed to “not compromise” on COVID-19 safety protocols at all times, Ms. Geetha added.
