Surat college, 2 schools shut as 20 students contract Covid-19

Two primary schools and a college in Gujarat's Surat city have been shut for two weeks after 20 students there tested positive for coronavirus, officials said on Sunday.

Since the educational institutions re-opened in Surat in February 2021 after being shut following the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, so far 118 students and teachers in the city have tested positive for the viral infection, they said.

On Saturday, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) decided to close the C D Barfiwala College here for 14 days after 10 students there tested positive for the coronavirus, a civic official said.

Besides, six students of one primary school and four of another school also tested positive for the infection on Saturday, following which both the educational institutions were also asked to remain closed for 14 days, he said.

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So far, 118 students and teachers have tested positive for the coronavirus in various educational institutions in the city, Deputy Commissioner (Health) Dr Ashish Naik said.

"We have now decided to close an institution if it reports more than five cases, unlike earlier when we would seal individual classes from where the positive cases were detected," he said.

The SMC has also requested managements of schools and colleges to conduct online classes and keep their campuses closed as far as possible, considering the recent rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in educational institutions.

On Saturday, Surat reported 188 new Covid-19 cases, taking the tally in the city to 42,259.

So far, 40,503 patients have recovered from the viral infection, as per official figures.