Chennai: The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) campus has emerged as the new Covid-19 hotspot with 71 people, including 66 students, testing positive for the virus in the last few days, prompting the management to shut down all the departments.
The IIT-M Management today announced that all the students in the campus would be subjected to coronavirus tests and if any of them tested positive, they would be quarantined.
A circular issued by the institute said all the departments, centres and libraries were closed with immediate effect till further notice.
It said all faculty members, project staff members and research scholars were advised to work from home, while students, scholars and project staff members staying on the campus were asked to confine themselves to their hostel rooms.
The IIT-M said they had been functioning with only 10 per cent students in the hostels, and as soon as a spurt in symptomatic cases was reported, they had arranged for all students in the hostels to be tested after consulting the civic authorities.
Following the development, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan advised all all the district Collectors and the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner to keep tab on educational institutions and hostels which were re-opened recently after a gap of more than eight months.
He also said those with remote symptoms or those returning from other States should be strictly monitored, tested and isolated if they tested positive, he said.
All those who tested positive at IIT-M were stable and being treated at the Government Corona Hospital at Guindy.
He said though sporadic cases were reported at IIT-M since 1 December, there has been a significant increase in the number of positive cases during the last three to four days.
As of now, of the 277 samples tested, 66 students, four mess workers and one other person in the residential quarters have tested positive, Dr Radhakrishnan said.
From 1 to 10 December, 16 persons tested positive and it was followed by 11 cases on Friday last, 12 on Saturday and 32 on Sunday.
Attributing the reason for the spike in cases in the last couple of days due to contact-tracing–testing of primary and secondary contacts and persons with symptoms, he said
“As per public health protocols, we have advised IIT-M to put in place effective containment measures and avoid unnecessary movement.”
Out of the nine hostels and one guest house, there are more cases in two hostels.
The Health Department, Greater Chennai Corporation, in coordination with the IIT-M, has put in place standard operating procedures.
“We will be testing 774 students and samples of 408 students have already been lifted,” he said.
Officials said the mess was closed on 9 December and a new catering arrangement was made by the management.
As more students tested positive, the dining hall was closed on 10 December and distribution of packed food to the rooms was started.
