NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Three more students at a quarantined public boarding school in Muang district have tested positive for Covid-19, raising the cluster of infections there to 30.
More than 300 at-risk students and teachers are confined in the dormitories at the school.
The provincial communicable disease committee said on Thursday that 209 new coronavirus cases were reported in the province on Wednesday. This brought the provincial total to 38,917, of which 36,501 had already recovered. Accumulated deaths stood at 298. A total of 2,118 patients remained in hospitals.
The panel said health officials were keeping a close watch on clusters of infections at six schools in the province. The latest cluster was Triam Udom Suksa Nom Klao School in tambon Khok Kruad of Muang district, where three more students were infected. This raised total infections among students and teachers at the boarding school to 30.
The public school was implementing the approved school isolation procedure, using school dormitories as quarantine facilities. A total of 317 people, including infected students, teachers and other at-risk people, were quarantined there.
The school's director, Thanong Khiewkaew, said some Mathayom Suksa 4 (Grade 10) students tested positive for the virus two days ago. The school quickly contacted health officials and antigen tests were organised for students and teachers who had come into contact with the infected students.
On Wednesday, the number of infections at the school rose to 27. On Thursday, three more students were diagnosed with Covid-19, raising the total to 30, Mr Thanong said.
Of the infected people, 27 were Mathayom Suksa 4 students, one Mathayom Suksa 5 student and two teachers. All had mild symptoms.
Health officials were investigating the source of the infections. All students were studying online, but there would be no learning problems because it was a boarding school, he said.
He was confident the school could control the spread of the disease.
A student dormitory is used as a quarantine facility for infected students and teachers in Nakhon Ratchasima. (Photo: Prasit Tangprasert)