News

The Tomsk Region Office of the Investigative Committee has opened an investigation in negligence of the officials at the Seversk Cadet Boarding School, a regional state-funded educational institution, which caused an epidemic among the cadets (Part 1 of Article 293 of the RF Penal Code).

According to preliminary information, On 28 September 2016, 20 cadets of the Seversk Cadet School located in the closed town of Seversk were taken to the contagious isolation ward of the Seversk Hospital with a preliminary diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis. Two cadets and a worker of the school’s cafeteria, who was not hospitalized, showed symptoms of Norwalk virus.

The cause of the disease was violations of sanitary norms in the cafeteria and lack of proper medical services in the facility. Two medical workers of the school were dismissed by the headmaster in August 2016 on grounds of redundancy without delegating their functions to the staff of Seversk Hospital with which the school administration had to have concluded a contract on medical support of the school.

By now all the cadets have been discharged from the hospital in satisfactory condition.

The investigators are carrying out initial investigative operations. Forensic medical examinations have been assigned, witnesses are being questioned, necessary documents are being confiscated from the cadet school and some other operations are underway. The investigation is ongoing.