26 children fall ill at Hyderabad residential school, samples taken for COVID-19 test

HYDERABAD: Nearly 26 children studying in the residential social welfare school at Gowlidoddi were rushed to Continental Hospital in Gachibowli on Thursday night after they had symptoms of fever and cold. All of their samples have been sent for a Covid-19 test.

The students, all boys aged between 16-17 years, were housed in the IIT preparation focused Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society's (TSWREIS) residential school since February 1st when the state government had permitted to resume schools. The children who hail from various districts were residing in the school and suddenly fell ill.

"Initially it was six children who fell ill with 102 degrees fever. We informed our the Panacea School Health Program Command Center which manages the health of school children. They sent in a team of doctors who suggested that they be taken to hospital," informed Kanchala Rajitha, incharge principal.

All social welfare schools had been linked up with a private hospital in light of the pandemic to deal with emergencies, which is why they were shifted to Continental Hospital in Gachibowli, she added.

At the hospital, all the six children and 20 others with minor symptoms have been admitted for the day and put through a Covid-19 test to rule out an outbreak. It is learnt from highly placed sources that the fear of an outbreak arose after the principal got affected with Covid-19 and had to be hospitalised a week ago.

Meanwhile senior officials of Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society have visited the hospital, including the Secretary Dr RS Praveen Kumar.