Odisha Child Rights Body Asks Govt To Ensure Covid Testing For All School/College Students

Amid reports of a series of Covid cases in schools and other educational institutions in Odisha, the State Commission For Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) on Thursday asked the authorities of all districts to take necessary precautionary strategies to prevent outbreak of the viral cases and ensure safety of students.

The state child rights body has requested the officials to ensure arrangement of Covid-19 testing kits facilities for all school & college children and also put in place pandemic safety protocols in the campuses of all educational institutions.

The OSCPCR has expressed serious concerns over the current Covid-19 spread especially reports of Omicron infections, a new variant of the virus, posing increased risk to children with the gradual reopening of schools and other educational institutions.

Meanwhile, the State Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra on Friday said that there have been no cases of Omicron in Odisha so far.

State government is fully prepared for any exigency arising out from probable outbreak of new Covid variant. Till now a total of 1286 foreign returnees to Odisha have registered their names in Air Suvidha portal, with a majority being from Ganjam, Cuttack, Angul & Khordha districts, said Mishra.

The top health officer further added that so far, 4 foreign returnees have tested positive for Covid-19 and their genome sequencing reports are awaited.