Schools, Colleges Shut In Palghar After 31 Test COVID-19 +ve In Ashram Shala

Mumbai: The district administration in Maharashtra’s Palghar has ordered the indefinite closure of all schools and colleges in Vasai-Virar civic jurisdiction from Thursday and government and private hostels in the district from March 23 till further notice

District Collector Dr Manik Gursal’s order came after 31 employees and children of a Nandor Ashramshala (government hostel) tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.

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On Saturday, 79 people tested positive for the virus in three ashrams in Hiradpada, Dabhosa and Vinwal areas of Johar taluka.

Nandor Ashramshala Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) is run by Dahanu and has around 193 boys and girls studying in class 9 to 12.

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“Thirty students, including 24 girls and 6 boys, have tested positive. A tutor at the ashram shala also tested positive. We have also sealed hostels. Nine girls have been kept in an isolation ward of a government hospital while the rest are in quarantine in the hostel itself,” said Dr Abhijit Khandare, Taluka Medical Officer, Palghar.

As of Wednesday, there are a total of 46,967 positive cases in the Palghar district with 30,959 cases in the Vasai-Virar civic area, and 16,008 in Palghar rural areas.

The pandemic has claimed 1,207 lives in the district so far. Nine hundred of the deaths were in Vasai-Virar civic area alone and 307 in Palghar rural said an official of the District Information Officer (DIO) Palghar.

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