225 Students Covid Positive In Maharashtra, School A Containment Zone

As Maharashtra battles a surge in Covid, 229 cases have emerged from a single hostel in a school in Washim district. The school has been declared a containment zone after 225 students and four teachers tested positive.

The school has over 300 students from the Vidarbha region, mostly from Amravati and Yavatmal, two districts that have contributed to a spike in virus cases in recent weeks.

The students had joined the Washim hostel on February 14. Twenty one students tested positive in the first few days, after which all 327 students of the school were made to take RT-PCR tests.

Earlier this week, 39 students and five employees of a hostel in Latur district of Marathwada had tested positive for the virus.

Maharashtra recorded over 8,800 new cases in a single day on Wednesday, the biggest spike in four months.

The state government and Mumbai police have warned of strict measures if people do not follow virus protocol and restrictions.

Washim has been in the news over a large gathering near a temple on Tuesday in violation of Covid restrictions. Scores of supporters of Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod, whose name has been linked by the opposition to the death of a woman, gathered near the temple as he visited the shrine.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ordered action against those who defied rules and sought a report from the officials and the police.

Mr Thackeray, also the Shiv Sena president, stressed that the rules were same for all. Because of the rising cases, religious, social and political gatherings have been banned.

Maharashtra also reported 80 deaths yesterday. The number of coronavirus cases in the state is at 21,21,119 and 51,937 have died.

Uddhav Thackeray said a decision on another lockdown would be taken on the basis of public behavior in the next few days.