Covid-19: Two city schools shut down campuses after student and teacher test positive

La Martiniere for Boys and St Lawrence High School will remain closed from Monday, officials said

La Martiniere for Boys.: File picture

TT Bureau   |   Calcutta   |  22.03.21 : Two city schools have decided to shut down their campuses temporarily after a student and a teacher tested positive for Covid-19.

La Martiniere for Boys and St Lawrence High School will be shut down from Monday, officials said.

La Martiniere for Boys will remain closed till March 27 and St Lawrence High School till March 29.

At La Martiniere for Boys, a Class X student who was writing the rehearsal exam on the campus tested positive for Covid-19 and at St Lawrence High School, a teacher who was conducting online classes from the school tested positive.

The teacher and the student both went to their respective schools on Friday.

At La Martiniere for Boys, all remaining rehearsal examinations for Classes X and XII will now be held online.

St Lawrence High School has suspended in-person classes for the Class X students who started their new academic session in January.

“A very unfortunate situation has cropped up. It has been reported to me that one of our Class X pupils appearing for the Onsite Rehearsal Examinations, has tested Covid positive and hence we have decided to close down school for a week (Monday, 22nd March- Saturday, 27th March, 2021),” said John Rafi, the principal of La Martiniere for Boys in a notice addressed to parents and pupils on Sunday.

“Therefore, all remaining Rehearsal Examinations for Class X and XII will shift from the onsite to the online mode. The online schedule as given earlier will be followed.”

The Class X student showed symptoms on Friday evening. “The report came this morning and the parents informed the school, after which the decision to close the school was taken,” a La Martiniere official said.

The Class X rehearsal exams had started on March 15 and that of Class XII on Friday. The Class X students had five more papers left, a school official said.

“The school and teachers were following the Covid safety protocols and the SOPs very strictly and parents and students should not get upset. The school was maintaining the prescribed distance of 6ft (between two persons) in the examination hall and proper sanitisation was being continuously done. The students were told about the Covid protocols and advised to follow them,” said Rafi.

A school official said about 70 per cent of the Class X students and 60 per cent of Class XII students were writing their exams in the school.

“I laud each and every boy who had taken the courage and initiative to sit for the onsite examinations. Do not let this upset you in any way. Don’t be nervous or afraid, rather be courageous and continue to concentrate on your studies,” said the principal in the notice.

At St Lawrence High School, teachers have been asked to work from home.

All topics in the syllabus for the students who will appear for the boards this year have been covered, said Father Sebastian James, the principal of St Lawrence High School.

“We were having on-campus classes for the current batch of Class X students following all safety protocols. The teacher (who tested positive) was not in contact with these students. She was taking online classes,” the principal said. Father James said in-person classes will resume on March 30.

The pre-boards are also going on at La Martiniere for Girls in both online and offline mode and the school will function as usual. “The girls’ school has a different campus and there is no need to close it down,” said Supriyo Dhar, the secretary of the La Martiniere schools.

Kasba Chittaranjan High School had been shut down on February 24 after a teacher tested positive for Covid-19. The students who attended the teacher’s class were asked to undergo test and nobody tested positive. The school conducted Class XII practicals from March 8 in small batches.

The state government had allowed schools to reopen for Classes IX to XII from February 12.