IIT-Madras campus under temporary lockdown after over 100 students, staff test Covid-19 positive

[Kool_SRG]

As per the local reports, the students had claimed that there has been overcrowding in the hostel mess and that could have led the infection to spread.

IIT-Madras campus has been placed under temporary lockdown after 104 students and staff members of the institution tested positive for coronavirus. The state health department and the IIT management are yet to identify the source of the outbreak.

As per local reports, the students had claimed there had been overcrowding in the hostel mess and that could have led the infection to spread. This is one of the biggest clusters that has emerged in Chennai after the state government permitted educational institutions to function from December 7.

In the last 10 days, 71 residents of IIT-Madras tested positive for Covid-19 and on Monday, 33 more were found to be infected.

 

Addressing reporters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said, “We have taken 447 samples till now. The positivity rate is around 20 per cent now. People need not panic, we are doing aggressive testing and trying to curb the spread”.

“People who are admitted to King’s Institute in Guindy are stable now. We have ordered to close the mess, the students have been instructed not to leave their rooms. The management will provide them food and any necessary items at their doorstep. All the district collectors have been instructed to monitor rest of the educational institutions across the state. The spread of the infection is higher at the eating place, so I request people to maintain distance while eating. We are constantly monitoring the situation, the IIT management is also co-operating well with us,” he further said.

Following the outbreak, the institution has decided to close all the departments temporarily including all the centres, labs, and library. In a press release, the IIT management said, “The Institute has been functioning on limited capacity with only 10% students in the hostels. As soon as a spurt in symptomatic cases was reported by some students residing in the hostels, the Institute has consulted the civic authorities and has arranged for all students residing in hostels to be tested for COVID. To be cautious, all students have been asked to remain in their rooms and packed food is being supplied to the students in the hostels.”

“Some Project Staff working on research projects and staying in the city have been coming to work in the labs, once this was permitted by the government. An SoP is in place to determine how many scholars and project staff can work safely in each lab based on its size, ventilation etc. Research scholars who wished to return earlier (out of turn with respect to the SoP involving quarantine before release into the hostels) were permitted to do so if they were willing to stay off campus similar to project staff, till their turn came to be accepted in the hostels, and provided their lab could accommodate them,” the release read.

According to the officials, a total of 700 students are currently staying on the campus and they are accommodated across nine hostels with less than 20 per cent capacity occupied in each.

The management said they would attempt to increase their capacity to quarantine returning students since the government is releasing the hostels they took custody of to quarantine Covid-19 patients during the last seven months.

[Kool_SRG]

 

[Kool_SRG]

Chennai: 183 infected with Covid at IIT-Madras; CM orders statewide testing at colleges

The cluster of Covid-19 cases in IIT-Madras has prompted the government to instruct officials to monitor other colleges and universities across the state.

At least 79 residents of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chennai tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, taking the number of infected on the campus to 183. The cluster of cases in IIT-Madras has prompted the government to instruct officials to monitor other colleges and universities across the state.

A team from the Tamil Nadu Health Department and Chennai Corporation is already conducting Covid-19 tests in colleges across Chennai.

“Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami has instructed district collectors to closely monitor other colleges and universities. We are conducting aggressive testing… We have already issued two Government Orders (GOs), and if any person or management fails to adhere to them, we will initiate action against them under the Epidemic Disease Act,” Dr Radhakrishnan told reporters in Chennai.

 

He said the IIT-Madras cluster served as a lesson for those who didn’t wear masks and follow safety precautions. “People think Covid-19 positive cases have come down, and hence they don’t need to wear masks or maintain social distance. This is happening at marriage halls, eateries, etc.

“Students need to realise the seriousness of the disease. Sitting together without social distancing, sharing food in a mess are primary reasons for the spread of Covid. We will initiate action against the management for letting these things happen. We cannot keep requesting them to follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). We are issuing a warning through this press meet,” he added.

Dr Radhakrishnan said he visited members of IIT-Madras who were admitted to the King’s Institute in Guindy. “They are stable and being monitored,” he confirmed.

Meanwhile, Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash said samples had been taken for testing from some residents at the IIT campus. A second round of testing would be conducted in 10 days, during which the remaining samples would be taken. This approach, he said, was known as the ‘100 per cent saturation approach’.

“We applied the same strategy at the Koyembedu market and other areas in the city. We tested more than four lakh samples in repeat cycles. Through this method, if we complete two cycles, we can eradicate the danger,” he said.

“Similar to this, our zonal officers have started conducting tests in other institutions in the city,” he added.

Students residing in Anna University hostels are undergoing testing after one student got a fever. According to S Iniyan, the Dean of College of Engineering, Guindy, as many as 400 students will be tested in the first phase.

[mmharshaa]

"mess" is more of a military word used during british india kada, ee tamilians still use that word for canteens?

[johnydanylee]

18 minutes ago, mmharshaa said:

"mess" is more of a military word used during british india kada, ee tamilians still use that word for canteens?

em maltunnav? mess ki canteen ki teda telusa?

 

[mmharshaa]

2 hours ago, johnydanylee said:

em maltunnav? mess ki canteen ki teda telusa?

 

pls elaborate

[PilliBeta]

Looks like all of them are research scholars. 

[PilliBeta]

2 hours ago, mmharshaa said:

"mess" is more of a military word used during british india kada, ee tamilians still use that word for canteens?

Hostels lo ekkadaina mess ane antaaru