With Maharashtra witnessing a surge of COVID-19 cases, 225 students, 4 teachers and some non-teaching staffers have tested positive for the virus in a single hostel of a residential school in Washim, reported IANS.
The school which has been declared a containment zone is a residential school-cum-hostel located in Degaon village in Risod tehsil.
After joining the Washim Hostel on 14 February, twenty one students tested positive in the first few days. Due to this, all 327 students of the school were made to take RT-PCR tests.
As per NDTV reports, the school has over 300 students from the Vidarbha region, mostly from Amravati and Yavatmal. These two districts have also contributed to a spike in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks.
On Wednesday night, Washim Collector Shanmugarajan S rushed to the residential school to review the situation. Post his visit, other precautions along with containment measures were taken to prevent further spread of the virus.
The district official, requesting anonymity, told IANS that the school premises have been isolated and all Covid-19 SOPs are being strictly implemented.
Spike In Covid-19 Cases In Maharashtra
On Wednesday, Maharashtra recorded the biggest spike in four months with over 8,800 new cases in a single day.
It also reported 80 deaths on Wednesday. The number of coronavirus cases in the state is at 21,21,119 and 51,937 have succumbed to the virus so far.
Mumbai Police have warned people of strict measures if the virus protocol and restrictions are not followed.
The state government has also said that the decision on another lockdown would be taken on the basis of public behaviour in the next few days.
(With inputs from IANS & NDTV)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)