Vizianagaram : With involvement in group activities, teachers fall victims to Covid

Vizianagaram : It seems that next to medical and health staff, teachers are the most affected by Covid and several lives were lost to the deadly virus. It's unavoidable for nurses, doctors, pharmacists and lab technicians to maintain close contacts with Covid positive patients.

They need to spend their entire duty hours within hospitals or in Covid wards. So they have more scope to get infected with coronavirus. But next to them, teachers are the most vulnerable group and they are most affected with the disease.

Actually the teachers are being involved in every government activity including elections and other welfare schemes like Jagananna Vidya Kanuka and Nadu-Nedu. They are inevitably forced to mingle with groups of people while discharging their duties. This was leading to the teachers contracting Covid.

Samala Simhachalam, State president of ST, SC Teachers Union, explained, "We have discharged our duties in Mandal and Zilla Parishad elections and even in municipal elections. We were appointed as booth officers and polling officers.

We worked with several groups of people and needed to travel with others in buses." The teachers also attended various training sessions on the conduct of polling and were exposed to gatherings. Subsequently, they were asked to attend schools and run classes for students.

Thus due to constant exposure to crowding, several teachers contracted coronavirus, points out Simhachalam. As many as 300 teachers in the State succumbed to the pandemic. Of them, 105 are from North Andhra.

AGS Ganapathi Rao, State general secretary of APPTA (AP Primary Teachers Association) said, "Unfortunately the government or heads of departments are not keeping a record of teachers who lost their lives due to Covid while the other departments are constantly monitoring the health status of employees getting affected with Covid.

In case of deaths, the officers are extending support to the affected families." Having participated in Nadu-Nedu works and the implementation of Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme, teachers contracted virus, Ganapathi Rao said.

While some of them recovered from Covid, others succumbed to the virus. According to Samala Simhachalam, 35 teachers from Srikakulam district, 33 from Vizianagaram and 37 from Vizag lost their lives due to Covid so far.

"Some others are still in different hospitals and fighting for their life. Every day one or two deaths are being reported and the rapid spread of the second wave of the virus is causing panic," Simhachalam points