Telangana: No need to panic over Covid spread in schools, says Sabitha Reddy

Hyderabad: Telangana education minister P Sabitha Indra Reddy on Tuesday assured the parents to not worry about the spreading of COVID-19 in educational institutions. She made it clear that the situation in the state is not alarming at present.

The minister evaluated the situation in educational institutions and residential hostels in the state with public representatives and district officials. She also enquired about the COVID-19 situation in the state, vaccination drives, and Omicron variant. She asserted that the state government is ready to fight the new variant.

She has instructed the officials of the department of education to ensure that the students and staff have taken both vaccine doses.

“At present, the situation is not worrisome in educational institutions and the officials have been directed to ensure 100 per cent vaccination among the staff, students and parents. They are also instructed to make sure the COVID-19 norms are being followed in the schools,” she said.

“The government is ready to fight against the Omicron variant and will take all the measures not to cause inconvenience to the students as they had already lost two years due to the pandemic,” she added.

This comes a day after at least 43 medical students at the Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences in Bommakal, Telangana’s Karimnagar district were tested positive for COVID-19, prompting the campus’s closure and suspension of sessions.

As per Telangana health authorities, COVID-19 cases are likely to increase in Telangana from January 15 onwards which raises concerns about the start of the third wave of the pandemic.