School Reopening: Blame game starts after 229 students and 4 teachers test Covid positive at Washim

Over 89% per cent of Covid cases in India are reported in the past 24 hours from seven states, but in this school hostel, the case count has come as a shocker.

On Thursday, 229 students and 4 teachers tested positive for Coronavirus in a residential school at Washim in Maharashtra. The public school hostel has now been declared a containment zone. A total of 327 students reside at the Bhavna Public School, which was reopened on February 14. 

Initially, 21 students tested positive in the first few days and thereafter the RT-PCR was conducted for all the students. It is not yet known as to the origin but the incident is in sync with the steep spike in Covid cases in Maharashtra.

Just a day earlier on Wednesday, as many as 8,807 cases and 80 deaths were reported. The state's fatality count currently stands at about 52,000. This is not an isolated case of virus infecting school students, as earlier in the week, 39 students and 5 employees of a hostel located in the Latur district of Marathwada had tested positive.

Washim was in the news after a large gathering near a temple on Tuesday was held with thousands of supporters of Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod, gathered in violation of Covid-19 rules, when he visited the shrine.

Who is to be blamed?

Opinions vary and blame game ensues, while the focus should be on preventing the further spread. "Well, the colleges reopened and hostels as well. What do you expect?" questioned a user.

What is more important, the school or health or rather life itself, asked a person on twitter. Now what's next? Another lockdown or colleges and schools go back to online education? Or may be both?