Omicron scare! Students in two girls' high schools in Odisha test COVID-19 positive

Amid the Omicron scare, nine schoolgirls in a government residential school in Odisha's Jajpur district have tested COVID-19 positive after which offline classes have been suspended at the school. At least 182 students reside in the hostel of Kasturba Girls' High School at Dasarathpur block where the incident has taken place.

Some students of the school developed symptoms of the infection following which their swab samples were collected and sent for testing. Test results showed nine students as COVID-19 positive after which they have been placed in isolation and the school premises have been sanitised, as per school authorities.

Taking precautionary measures, all the students and staffers of the school have undergone the COVID-19 test.

In a similar incident, as many as 10 students of Balipata Girls' High School in Angul district of Odisha have also tested positive for the virus after their blood samples were collected on Monday for the test. All infected students have been isolated in the hostel.

Block development officer (BDO) Sanjay Kumar Mishra said that of the total 59 inmates of the hostel of Balipata Girls High School, 10 were found infected with the virus. "Contact tracing is underway. We will collect samples of other boarders for tests," Mishra added.

A total of 250 students are enrolled in classes I to X of the school. The condition of all the 10 infected students are stable and they don't have any symptoms, Chief district medical officer (CDMO) Trilochan Pradhan said.