IIT Madras Students Corona Positive: Institute Turns Into Hotspot With 66 Cases; Campus Under Lockdown

66 students have found coronavirus positive in IIT Madras. The institute conducted Covid-19 tests after a spurt of cases in the hostels

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New Delhi: Even as many states across Indian mull over the reopening of schools and colleges, reports have come in that around sixty-six students in IIT-Madras have tested positive for Covid-19 from December 1 till Sunday, December 13. The figures have been provided by the institute after a spurt in cases was observed on the campus. According to a tweet by ANI, IIT M has said in a statement, that the institute began doing Covid tests after symptomatic cases were reported from students residing in hostels. The academic institute is currently functioning in a limited capacity.

IIT Madras has been functioning on limited capacity with only 10% students in hostels. As soon as spurt in symptomatic cases was reported by some students residing in hostels, the Institute arranged for all students residing in hostels to be tested for COVID: IIT Madras Statement

— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2020

ALSO READ: RGUKT-CET Result 2020: RGUKT-CET Result 2020, Check Here For Direct Link According to media reports, the campus has been shut down after the cases were reported. All students were tested after 32 coronavirus cases surfaced on Sunday. The Tamil Nadu government then ordered all students to be tested. The institute has told students and faculty to work from home. The campus has been put under a temporary lockdown. There are around 774 students on the campus at present. Those who were infected were residents of two hostels- Krishna and Jamuna. A report by IANS says that IIT-M has decided to shut down all its departments and centres. The staff has been asked to work from home. Anyone with the symptoms like fever, dry cough, sore throat, diarrhoea, loss of taste/smell etc has been told to get in touch with the hospital officials. The postgraduate students, research scholars and others have been asked to be confined to their rooms with arrangements made to deliver food to their rooms.