After schools reopened on January 2, over 50 teachers in Karnataka’s government schools tested positive for the novel coronavirus. COVID-19 has been contracted by as many as 51 educators and four students across seven districts in Karnataka.
Officials from the Department of Primary and Secondary Education said they are collecting information on the total number of teachers and students who have so far tested positive since reopening schools and the number may be much higher. For three days, the schools where these teachers were deployed were shut down, a department official said.
Dr. K Sudhakar, Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education of Karnataka said that the government is monitoring the decision and is taking steps to ensure that students are not at risk of being infected. “There’s no need to worry. We also made arrangements to ensure that good care is available for students who have tested positive. The need for student’s academic success must also be acknowledged. We get information on how many teachers and pupils have checked this positively and I suggest that no rumors and panic be spread,” he said.
22 teachers tested positive in the Belagavi district, and are presently in home quarantine. Belagavi Deputy Director of Public Instruction Pundalik said only 1 of the 22 teachers tested positive after the reopening of the schools and the other 21 tested positive when COVID-19 exams were performed before the reopening of the schools.
“The school was shut down in Kadoli village. Students were asked to remain in home quarantine and report to us if they showed any symptoms,” Pundalik said.
In the Hassan district, 10 teachers tested positive for coronavirus in the Holenarsipura and Hassan districts. Public instruction officials from the district’s department said that three of these teachers tested positive before schools reopened and seven others tested positive on Tuesday.
So far, seven schools in the Hassan district have shut down. Hassan Deputy Commissioner R Girish said officials are going to take a call on whether to reopen the schools or not.
After six teachers and a school worker tested positively, seven schools in the district of Chitradurga were shut down on Tuesday. Deputy District Commissioner Kavita Mannikeri said the seven schools had been sanitized. One school in the Vijayapura district was closed after a virus-positive teacher had been screened.
In the Gadag district, 10 teachers tested positive and have been in quarantine at home since Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Sundaresh said.
Meanwhile, five teachers in Chikkamagaluru and two in Koppal were tested positive for coronavirus. Four students in Chikkamagaluru, who went to school in Mudigere, Kadur, and Chikkamagaluru, also tested Covid-19 positive.
