64 students test Covid positive in Rayagada

BERHAMPUR:  As many as 64 students studying in two different schools in Rayagada district have tested positive for Covid-19. While 44 students reside in Block 1 Hostel in Kotlaguda under Anwesha scheme, 20 are from Hatamuniguda Government High School in Bissamcuttack block.

 Sources said, some inmates of the hostel were reportedly found suffering from cold and fever. On May 4, as soon as the Rapid Response Team (RRT) of the Health Department was informed, it reached the hostel and conducted RTPCR tests of 257 inmates of Block 1. Of them, 44 tested positive.

Another 20 students of Hatamuniguda Government High School in Bissamcuttack block of the district also tested positive for Covid. Receiving the information, Rayagada District Welfare Officer Ashok Kumar Satpathy rushed to the hostel to take stock of the situation. Now most students are asymptomatic and doing well, he said.

Hostel matron Namita Samal said following the detection of the cases, all kinds of precautionary measures have been taken by the hostel authorities. Medicines and other requisites are made available to all the affected, she added.

The rising number of cases of Covid-19 during the fourth wave is being attributed to a large number of people returning home from other states. The district administration has urged people to wear mask and avoid crowd. As a precautionary measure, the administration has been conducting random tests of people in vulnerable places.

Anwesha scheme was initiaited in 2015 by the SC/ST Development department to provide quality education to ST & SC students in partnership with urban educational institutions. The programme is currently being implemented in 17 districts - Angul, Bargarh, Bolangir, Deogarh, Ganjam, Gajapati Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Malkangiri, Mayurbanj, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur and  Sundargarh.