On 7 September 2021, six students, all below the age of 13 years, tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. The six students – three boys and three girls – are studying at a mandal parishad school in Cheemalavalasa village under Amadalavalasa Mandal of Srikakulam District.
The Srikakulam district authorities confirmed that they tested 80 students at the Cheemalavalasa school and six students returned positive test results. So far, thirty students, eight teachers, and one non-teaching staff have tested positive for Covid-19 in the district. With this, the number of students who have tested positive has crossed 150 in the state. Of the total number of cases, over 65 have been reported from the districts of North Andhra Pradesh.
Two weeks ago, six students from Vizag, and around sixteen students studying at municipal schools in Vizianagaram District, had tested positive for Covid-19. The six students from Vizag, who tested positive are studying at Zilla Parishad High School, Yellapuvanipalem. Among them are four students studying in class 10, and one each in classes 6 and 9.
As per the guidelines by the Andhra Pradesh State Government, several changes have been made within the schools’ premises before reopening them to provide a clean and safe environment to students. The AP Education Department has allowed only schools located in areas with less than a 10 percent positivity rate to reopen.
Students have been advised to maintain social distancing at schools and are restricted from sharing their things to strictly adhere to the safety protocol. They are also urged to sanitise themselves, their bags, and their uniforms before entering their houses. Doctors in Visakhapatnam have advised that all students should be vaccinated before they are allowed to come to school.
The state reported 1,178 new cases on 7 September taking the total number to 20,23,242. There are currently 14,452 active cases with 19,94,855 recoveries and 13,935 fatalities.
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