Two teachers and a student of Sonada Holy Cross Higher Secondary School here have tested positive for Covid-19 after offline classes across Bengal resumed on November 16.

An official of the school said one teacher tested positive on Friday and another teacher developed Covid-19-like symptoms on Sunday and tested positive on Monday.

On Tuesday the district administration held a medical check-up camp for persons who were in close proximity to the two teachers.

“In that camp some students, too, were tested of which the report of one student came back positive,” said the school official.

The school is situated 16km from Darjeeling town.

The school officials maintained that they had informed district authorities about this development.

“The authorities, however, suggested that we isolate the teachers and students and carry on with our offline classes as usual.”

The school official, however, alleged that the administration had not undertaken any sanitisation on the school premises after these Covid-19 cases were reported, and that the school was using its own resources to handle the current situation.

The incident has scared many guardians, which reflected in the drastic fall in attendance on Wednesday morning.

Of the 135 students in Class XII only 25 turned up for offline classes on Wednesday. The attendance for Class X offline class was a mere 45 out of 186 students.

“Until yesterday (Tuesday), we had on average 80 per cent attendance but today (Wednesday) the attendance was only 21.7 per cent,” said the official.

S. Ponnambalam, the district magistrate of Darjeeling, said that the district authorities were aware of the Covid-19 situation in the school.

However, he added that there was nothing to panic about at the moment.

“After the two teachers tested positive, we immediately organised a Covid-testing camp for all the persons who had come in close proximity to the infected. At

that camp, only one student tested positive. All the (three) patients have been isolated,” said Ponnambalam.

The district magistrate also said that they have, however, instructed the school authorities not to force anyone to attend the offline classes in this situation.

“If they (the students and teachers) voluntarily come, it is fine, but we have asked the school not to force anyone to attend the offline classes,” said Ponnambalam..