New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS): Dozens of students were held inside a Chinese primary school for hours after it was locked down because a staff member tested positive for Covid-19, the BBC reported.

A large group of parents gathered outside the school on Tuesday night, anxiously waiting for news which did not come until almost midnight.

The children were tested and reportedly told to wait in the school overnight until their results came out, the BBC report said.

The students are thought to have been between seven and 12 years of age.

According to local site Jimu News, the school principal finally emerged at around 11.30 p.m. and told waiting parents that some children would have to go into quarantine.

They were then asked to pack clothes for the children, who would have to spend the night at school. The principal added that they would be released the next day when the results were out, the report added.

It is not clear how many students were affected by this but a news report by the Falun-gong linked New Tang Dynasty Television outlet reported that 35 students were eventually taken away into quarantine.

All teachers, students and staff members at the school were tested for the virus.

The school has been temporarily shut.