57 TTD school students test positive for Covid-19

TIRUMALA: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Wednesday said 57 of its students tested positive for Covid-19 in rapid antigen tests performed on the students of its Vedic school, Dharmagiri Veda Vignana Peetham, at Tirumala.

All 435 students of the school were tested through RT-PCR method five days ago. They started attending the school, which reopened after relaxations in lockdown norms, only after submitting their test reports. 
“On March 9, rapid tests were performed on all the students. All the 57 who tested positive are asymptomatic,’’ the TTD said in an official release. The 57 students were shifted immediately to SVIMS super specialty hospital in Tirupati for better treatment.

“RT-PCR tests were performed on the students again, and the reports are awaited. No one has shown any symptoms for the coronavirus so far, and they are all healthy,” the release added.DMHO Dr Penchalaiah said the Covid-19 confirmatory test results are expected any time. The infected students were quarantined for 14-days as per the protocol, he added.

In view of this, the TTD carried out Covid-19 tests on the remaining 378 pupils, and 10 faculty members of the Dharmagiri Veda Pathashala, and all of them tested negative. “The TTD is looking after the students, and providing them the best medical care,’’ the TTD said. Students from across the country take admission to the school to study the Vedas.