Schools, colleges told to strictly follow Covid guidelines as fresh cases rise in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: With Covid-19 clusters being reported in two private schools in the city, the Primary and Secondary Education Department has advised schools to follow all Covid-19 guidelines strictly. The Health Department too has issued guidelines for schools and colleges.

The guidelines have been issued as a preventive measure and all educational institutions have been advised to strictly follow them.

What The Guidelines Say

* Students to be subjected to thermal scan every day and oxygen level to be checked
* Students and staff with any illness should not be allowed
* Students, teachers and staff in all schools and colleges should compulsorily wear masks
* Social distancing to be maintained while entering/leaving the campus, inside classrooms, during prayers, meals and play time and also in school/college buses
* Teachers, staff and cooking staff should compulsorily have had two doses plus precautionary dose of vaccination
* If infection is detected, entire class should be tested
* If 10-12 students are infected in a class, only that class to be closed
* If there are more number of cases, the school/college should be closed and all staff and students tested
* Classrooms and campus to be regularly sanitised

Meanwhile, the state government has come out with a blueprint to tackle a possible fourth wave of Covid-19 in the light of rising cases over the last one week. Though the death rate is zero, the positivity rate has rised to 3 per cent in the state. The government is keen that it does not reach 10 per cent.

Masks will be compulsory in public places like government and private offices, hotels, bars, restaurants, pubs, malls and supermarkets. Testing and genomic sequencing will be increased while the pace of the vaccination drive will be speeded up and precautionary doses given to those eligible. All those aged 15 and above will have to get vaccinated.

In Bengaluru, which has been seeing a steady rise in fresh cases, 582 new infections were reported on Tuesday while the positivity rate climbed to 2.83 per cent. The BBMP is planning to conduct random testing wherever the positivity rate is more than 10 per cent.

The city has 3,738 active cases and 28 are hospitalised of whom three are in intensive care. The rest are being treated at home. There are 25 containment zones with the highest of 19 in Mahadevapura zone.