69 girls of residential school test +ve for Cov in E S’bhum

Jamshedpur: The Union government-run Kasturba Gandhi Balika Awasiya Vidyalaya (KGBAV) in remote Chakulia reported 69 Covid-19 cases between Monday and Tuesday. The development forced the district health department to launch a testing drive at all the government and private residential schools, including the nine KGBAVs and the two state-run Jharkhand Balika Awasiya Vidyalaya (JBAV), in East Singhbhum.
Over 5,000 girls are enrolled in the 11 residential schools. The private-run Netaji Subhas Chandra residential school said it will also conduct testing of its students. The infected girls have been isolated on the school campus. On Monday, the surveillance team of the health department detected 46 Covid-19 cases on Monday and 23 on Tuesday at the KGBAV, Chakulia, after testing 300 students with rapid antigen test (RAT) kits.
Chakulia block health officer Dr Ranjit Murmu said three girls of the school were positive last week. The school administration asked all the girls to undergo Covid-19 tests at the CHC in Chakulia.
Civil surgeon Dr Jujhar Manjhi said, “In the wake of the Covid-19 cases being detected at the remote KGBAV, the district health department on Tuesday announced that testing would be launched at all the residential schools. The number of the cases could rise with the increase in testing.”