KURNOOL: The sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in the district, particularly among school children, can only be addressed by the district administration if they devise newer and more workable containment strategies. On Sunday, 729 positive cases and three deaths have been reported.
Health minister Alla Nani directed district medical and health officer Ram Giddayya to monitor corona cases in Kasturba school at Adoni where 53 students tested positive while a school in Kodumur reported six more cases. The school was closed for a week and students have been quarantined, said the DMHO.
The DMHO said most of the positive cases are reported from urban areas like Nandyal, Adoni and Kurnool and that too from educational institutions. The spread of the virus is very fast among students as schools are not maintaining physical distance norms due to cramped classrooms.
In private colleges run by Chaitanya and Narayana managements, it has been noticed that class sections have been canceled and all students of a particular class are accommodated in a single lecture hall. Lack of teaching staff and cost-reduction initiatives are making school children vulnerable, district education officials said.
The DMHO who spent most of Sunday on video and phone conferences with medical and health officials said proposals like declaring holidays for schools were also under consideration.
He said "the situation is dangerous and needs some surgical measures to protect children''.
A total of 39,500 doses of Covishield and 6,500 Covaxin have arrived, he said.
