‘Schools not at fault for students contracting virus’ : Telangana DH

HYDERABAD: Managements of private educational institutions were on Tuesday offered an assurance that they would not be held responsible for any student attending physical classes catching Covid-19. Director of public health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, addressing a press conference, said it was the “collective responsibility” of everyone in the society to prevent the spread of the disease.

He said school and college managements could not be held responsible in the event of a student catching Covid-19. Covid, which is under full control in the state, can be further curbed by everyone by following Covid-19 appropriate protocols such as wearing a face mask and maintaining physical distance norms, according to him.

Answering to a question whether politicians, irrespective of their standing in the state, were part of the ‘collective responsibility’, particularly in the light of their habit of discarding their masks while interacting with people, or while in public, or addressing meetings, Dr Srinivasa Rao said if there was an outbreak of clusters of cases, or increasing cases of Covid in the state, then the politicians who were ignoring the “clear messages given” about following Covid-19 safety protocols, would be responsible for any resurgence of the disease in Telangana.

“Political leaders too are responsible. The elections are two years away but there is a lot of political activity. We have already urged everyone to follow Covid appropriate behaviour. If there is a spike, then political parties will be held responsible,” he said.

The Telangana state government, he said, had effectively curbed the spread of the Coronavirus. “Other than festivals such as Bathukamma and Moharram, there are many weddings that are taking place, movie theatres are open, but we do not have case clusters. Even in the GHMC area, there are no such instances,” he said.

On a possible third wave of Covid-19, he said there was no scientific basis for such claims. Only if a new highly infectious variant of the virus emerged, then it could be a cause of concern. As long as people followed Covid appropriate behaviour, the disease could be fully controlled, he said.