Bengaluru School H1N1 Row: Civic Body Issues Notice Over Unverified Outbreak Claims

Bengaluru's Clarence School has received a civic body notice over claims of an H1N1 outbreak. Officials said only two teachers tested positive, while no confirmed H1N1 cases were found among students. The school is set to resume classes on Wednesday.

Parents of students at Clarence School remain concerned after the school declared a holiday amid fears of a possible H1N1 outbreak. The school management has now announced that classes will resume on Wednesday, while civic officials have clarified that the situation appears to be an isolated incident. Authorities said no other school in Bengaluru has reported a similar situation so far.

GBA Commissioner Maheshwar Rao told media that the incident appears to be limited to Clarence School. He said the civic authorities had not received reports of a similar issue from any other school in the city.

Meanwhile, two teams of medical officers from the city corporation visited the school to assess the situation.

"Some children had fever and cough, but it could just be a common infection," Health Officer Basappa said.

He added that the school premises had been sanitised during the holiday and that the situation was expected to return to normal by Wednesday.

Notice Issued To Clarence School

The North Corporation Commissioner has issued a notice to Clarence High School on Pottery Road, alleging that the school created panic among the public by informing the media about an H1N1 outbreak without sufficient medical evidence.

The school management had alerted the media about the situation on August 15. According to civic officials, the school did so without providing proper medical documents or confirmed information regarding H1N1 infections among students.

Only Two Teachers Confirmed With H1N1

Following media reports, Commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar directed a public health team to investigate the situation at the school. The team found that only two teachers had tested positive for H1N1 and were receiving outpatient treatment. One of them had already recovered and returned to work.

The health department also said it found no medical records or confirmed reports indicating that any student had tested positive for H1N1.

The commissioner said that providing unverified information to the media and creating fear among the public could constitute a serious offence under the Epidemic Diseases Act. He said the notice was issued to the school under the relevant provisions of the law.