Schools and colleges are turned into containment areas, with 89 students testing positive in just 15 days

While the health and education departments are in battle whether to keep schools and colleges open in the midst of the second wave of Covid-19 infections or not.

In the last two weeks, ten educational institutions have been declared containment zones within BBMP boundaries. In addition, the number of infected schools and college students had risen to 89 by Tuesday evening, up from 82 on Monday.

Sources say educational institutions listed under containment zones include high schools, polytechnic colleges, hostels, nursing colleges, and first-grade colleges. The highest number of positive cases were reported in Arya Eediga Girls Hostel (15 cases) in the west zone and a BBMP high school (9) in the east zone.

“It’s impossible to stop the spread of the virus while schools and colleges are open,” a senior health official said. It’s unrealistic to expect students to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines. The government needs to rethink whether on-campus classes should be allowed, he added further.

The Covid-19 technical advisory committee proposed scrapping standard classes at a recent meeting. “Except for 10th and 12th grades, semester and final year students in higher education, all offline classes shall be suspended,” the committee said in a report. Except for health sciences, colleges and higher education institutions must work in an online mode.”

The Palike will conduct Covid tests in schools and colleges, according to BBMP commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad. “On Monday, we had a meeting and agreed to perform tests in schools, colleges, markets, hotels, bus stops, train stations, wedding halls/functions, movie theatres, shopping malls, and religious places,” he said. “Our approach is to run as many experiments as possible,” says the researcher.

“This is really a grave concern, A large number of young people are being infected. The government must take firm measures and enforce masking, distancing, and the avoidance of large crowds,” said Dr. H Sudarshan Ballal, chairman of Manipal Hospitals. Appropriate Covid-19 behavior is also being overlooked.