Ludhiana: A day after Punjab health department started Covid-19 sampling in schools, 20 students tested positive at two schools in the Ludhiana district on Tuesday.
As many as 12 students of Government High School in Kailash Nagar locality and 8 students of Government Senior Secondary School, Basti Jodhewal tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.
Following this, the school has been shut and all students have been asked to home quarantine themselves, the education department said adding that the health department has been asked to conduct a sampling of other suspected students to avoid virus spread.
Punjab had reopened for all classes on August 2 and heads of all private and government schools have been asked to take at least 10,000 samples per day from Monday.
These samples have to be collected randomly among students and teachers to check the virus spread.
The director of education (senior secondary), issued directions to all district education officers (DEOs) and heads of schools.
As per the order, Ludhiana has given a target of 1000, Amritsar (790), Patiala (700), Jalandhar (647), Sangrur (570), Gurdaspur (565), Fazilka (562), Hoshiarpur (560), Bathinda (552), Tarn Taran (480), Ferozepur and SAS Nagar (420 each), Muktsar and Moga (390 each), Mansa (350), Kapurthala (260), Faridkot (250), Ropar (240), Fatehgarh Sahib and SBS Nagar (220 each), Barnala (210) and Pathankot (205).
DEOs in coordination with the Covid nodal officer of the district have to ensure that sampling and testing are done as per directions.
Meanwhile, there is a panic among parents of the school and health officials would conduct sampling of suspected coronavirus patients.