Patna, Dec 28 (IANS): A total of 16 persons, majority of them students, are suspected to be Corona positive in a village in Bihar's Seikhpura district, an official said on Tuesday.

Confirming the news, District civil surgeon Dr Prithvi Raj said: "The infected persons of Kataithwa village tested positive in a rapid antigen test. We have sent their samples on Monday evening for RT-PCR and genome sequencing tests to ascertain if they have symptoms of Corona and Omicron variants of virus."

The samples have been sent to the microbiology lab in PMCH Patna," he added.

As per the officer, a tuition teacher named Abhishek Kumar(45) turned Corona positive on December 20. Following that, he underwent RT-PCR tests thrice and his report came positive. Despite that he continued to go to his students' houses in the village.

The incident came to light after several students fell ill in the village and approached the primary health centre in the last couple of days.

"We have immediately sent a medical team in the village to ascertain the situation. The team also visited the house of Abhishek. His mother also tested positive in a rapid antigen test. Among the 16 people, some are the students' parents. The students belong to 9-16 age group, Prithvi Raj said.

The villagers informed the medical team that after his students fell ill, Abhishek left for Bangalore.

"Te entire village has been declared a containment zone and the students and their parents are under home isolation," the officer said.