Maharashtra: Over 200 students, teachers test COVID-19 positive at hostel
What's the story
Amid a worrying spike in coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, a major cluster has emerged from the state.
As many as 229 school students and teachers have tested positive for COVID-19 at a hostel in the Washim district.
The infected include 225 students and four teachers.
The school premises have since been declared a containment zone, reports say.
Here are more details on this.
Details
327 students reside in the hostel
A total of 327 students reside in the said hostel and most of them are from Amravati, Hingoli, Nanded, Washim, Buldhana, and Akola.
Notably, some of these districts are among the worst-affected in the state and have been reporting a major share of the total daily cases there.
The students had returned to the hostel on February 14. They all have since been tested.
Similar incident
A large gathering recently took place in Washim
Washim has been in the news since a large gathering was recently reported from there.
Scores of supporters of Shiv Sena leader and State Cabinet Minister Sanjay Rathod gathered near the Pohradevi Temple as he visited the shrine, thereby defying the virus-related social distancing guidelines.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has also sought a report over the matter and directed the police to take action.
Situation
Maharashtra reporting a rise in COVID-19 cases for weeks now
For the past couple of weeks, Maharashtra, the country's worst-hit state in the outbreak, has been witnessing a significant rise in COVID-19 cases.
On Wednesday, the state reported over 8,000 new infections after a gap of four months, the Health Department said.
It also reported 80 deaths, the highest in two months, pushing the state's fatality count to 51,937, according to the government's data.
CM
Decision on lockdown will be taken soon, says CM
In the wake of the rising cases, CM Thackeray has said that a plausible second wave of coronavirus is a matter of concern and ordered a ban on all religious, political, and social gatherings across the state.
The CM further said he would observe the situation in the coming days and then decide whether to impose another lockdown in the state.
India
Kerala, Punjab also seeing a spike in infections
Not just Maharashtra, several other states including Kerala and Punjab have also reported a spurt in cases in recent days amid growing fears over mutated strains of the virus.
Yesterday, the country reported more than 17,000 new coronavirus cases.
Major clusters have also been found in cities like Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, the second phase of India's vaccination drive is set to commence on March 1.