Third grader gets Covid
A third grader of a government primary school has tested Covid-19 positive in Gopalganj's Kotalipara upazila.
Following the incident, the authority of Ferdhora Government Primary School suspended the classes of third grade on September 19.
Headmaster Soheli Pravin Panna said, "We reopened our school on September 12 after about 17 months. As per schedule, the students of classes three and five attended classes on the first day. The student, who tested Covid positive, was also present in the class. The child showed no symptoms of Covid that day."
Soheli said they check body temperature of all students before allowing them into classes.
"The class-III student and the mother tested Covid-19 positive on September 17. But we came to know about it on September 19 as the child did not join school after the first school day. The child is now doing well in home isolation," the headmaster added.
Speaking to The Daily Star, the student's mother said, "The child went to school on September 12. The following day, the child had a fever. I gave medicine after taking advice from a local physician. Later, the child and I had cough and fever. So we gave samples at the Upazila Health Complex on September 16 for Covid testing and got the results on September 17. We have been staying home since then."
She said schoolteachers, the upazila nirbahi officer and the upazila health and family planning officer had been in contact with them and they were providing all kinds of support to them.
According to school sources, it has a total of 310 students. Of them, 58 are in class-III.
Due to the pandemic situation, the school now holds classes once a week for students of classes-I to -IV. For fifth graders, it arranges classes six days a week.
Assistant Teacher Arpita Mandal said, "We teach our students maintaining hygiene rules. There is no panic among the students and parents about coronavirus. Our school attendance rate is about 80 percent."
Sushanta Vaidya, Kotalipara upazila health and family planning officer, said they were monitoring the health of the infected student.
Kotalipara UNO Ferdous Wahid said all schools in the upazila were running their academic activities complying with health safety rules.
"We are constantly monitoring these schools. The body temperature of the students is being checked in every school every day. If any student is found showing Covid symptoms, he or she will be tested immediately," he added.
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