MUMBAI: Coronavirus cases among students continue to rise in the Palghar district with 13 more students testing positive in a hostel in Jawhar taluka on Sunday. The hostel has been sealed.
Five girls and eight boys, along with a teacher of the Karegaon government tribal hostel in Mokhada, Jawhar taluka tested positive for Covid-19.
The infected people are admitted at the Jawhar Covid Care Unit.
The number of students who tested positive has gone up to 18.
All hostels in the district are shut from Tuesday as per the district collector's orders. Class 10 and 12 students, appearing for their board exams, will be allowed to stay back in the hostels after obtaining permission from their parents.
The hostels, schools and colleges were open for class 9 to 12 students. Tribal students from economically backward families had returned to their hostels last month.
In the past eight to 10 days, students have been testing positive. Earlier, 38 students of three tribal hostels in Jawhar had tested positive. A few days later another 30 students tested positive.
Several teachers, administrative and kitchen staff of the hostels have also tested positive.
The superintendent of a tribal hostel in Dahanu died of Covid last week.
The district's Covid cases touched 47,546 on Sunday. Active cases are 1,086 and deaths have reached 1,209.