Schools reopen: Students, teachers screened for Covid in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada/Visakhapatnam/Kakinada/Anantapur/Nellore: The Andhra Pradesh state government health officials on Tuesday said that they have been screening teachers and students over the last few days to ensure a Covid-free school environment. They also said several teachers and students, who tested positive for the disease during this period, have also recovered.

Health officials maintain that they are conducting Covid-19 tests on both the teachers and the students and will continue until they complete all the targeted number of teachers and students to ensure that no infected person spreads the virus to others.

In East Godavari, district health authorities conducted Covid-19 tests on nearly 14,000 teachers in the last 15 days. Out of them, only nine teachers were tested positive for the disease. However, as all infected teachers underwent medical treatment and recovered, they were allowed to attend the schools since November 2.

All 2,000 students from Classes 9 and 10 tested negative for Covid-19 and have been attending the classes.

East Godavari DEO S. Abraham said, “We are taking up thermal screening of both teachers and students before allowing them to enter the schools. If anyone is found with fever and other symptoms of Covid-19, we are seeing them for the Covid-19 test. Apart from ensuring strict compliance with the maintenance of social distance, wearing a facemask and the use of hand sanitisers, we are also creating an awareness among children on Covid-19, so that they could remain safe from infection.”

In West Godavari, nearly 2,410 out of a total number of 12,347 teachers underwent Covid-19 tests. However, only 80 were tested positive in the last few days. While 33,557 out of 5,42,364 students underwent Covid-19 tests, only 230 were tested Covid-19 positive.

In Guntur, 23,692 students and 7,825 teachers were subjected to Covid test. But only 140 students and 72 teachers were found to have been infected with Coronavirus. Out of 72 infected teachers, 40 have recovered and started attending the schools.

In Krishna district, 10 teachers tested Covid-19 positive in the last few days in the district. In Nellore district, 6,659 students and 5024 teachers underwent Covid-19 test. But only 27 students and 38 teachers tested positive for the disease. In Visakhapatnam district, nine teachers tested Covid-19 positive so far in the district. In Anantapur, 10 teachers tested positive for Coronavirus.

At Kakinada, a midday meal worker working at Zilla Parishad High School at Gangalakurru village of Ambajipeta mandal in East Godavari, was tested Covid-19 positive on Tuesday. However, as she served food to 17 students in the school on Monday, all the students were sent to quarantine as a precautionary measure.