Karnataka: 130 Students From Class 1 to 10 Positive For Covid, Edu Minister Hints At Closing Schools Again

• With the threat of the new Omicron variant and the increases in the number of COVID-19 cases in educational institutions, Karnataka Education Minister B.C Nagesh had hinted that closure of schools.

Bengaluru: According to the latest statistics released by the office of the Commissioner of Public Instruction,  as many 130 children studying in Class 1 to 10 in schools across Karnataka have tested positive for Covid-19 so far. A maximum of 92 cases are reported from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya residential school in Chikkamagalur. Meanwhile, seven students have tested positive for Covid in Chamarajanagar district and 11 in Kodagu district, bordering Kerala. Only two students have tested positive for Covid in Bengaluru. A private nursing college in Mangaluru has been sealed down following nine students testing positive on Monday. Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner Akshy Sridhar said that as many as 173 students were attached to M.V. Shetty College in Kavoor following the incident. All students returning from Kerala were also tested. Initially three students tested positive and later four more. On Monday, two more tested positive. All of the infected students have been isolated and their primary contacts are also been tracked and quarantined. The infected students will be retested for Covid-19. The swab samples of students have also been sent for genomic testing.

Education Minister hints at closing schools again

With the threat of the new Omicron variant and the increases in the number of COVID-19 cases in educational institutions, Karnataka Education Minister B.C Nagesh had hinted that closure of schools. However, as of now, there has been no official confirmation about the same. Karnataka reported the first case of the Omicron variant in India. As per the latest statistics that have been released by the office of the Commissioner of Public Instruction, as many as 130 children from classes 1 to 10 have tested COVID-19 positive. In a residential school in Karnataka’s Chikkamagalur, 92 COVID-19 cases were reported. To battle the spread of the rising COVID-19 cluster, more swabs have been collected from the staff as well as students of the educational institutions. Further, the government also decided to take several measures such as postponement of events in educational institutions and others.