A hostel area in the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) in Udupi district of Karnataka has been declared a containment zone after a number of students and others in the area tested positive for coronavirus, a top official at the institute has confirmed to NDTV.
Registrar of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Dr Narayana Sabhahit, told NDTV that around 5,800 students were staying there. He said 59 students had tested positive over the last couple of days and they had been isolated in a separate block. All the students who contracted the virus are doing well, he said.
The Registrar made it clear that the entire Manipal campus was not a containment zone.
"There has been a rise in numbers in Udupi district and the neighbouring district of Mangaluru - both of which are close to Kerala. With cases reported in the MIT campus, the district administration said the MIT campus should be a containment zone. This applies only to the hostel area where students reside. The academic area is unaffected and faculty can reach there with passes and with Covid protocol. Movement has been restricted across the campus as a precaution. Online classes are continuing," Dr Sabhahit told NDTV.
The institute has rescheduled pending end-semester examination of the first semester B.Tech to a later date, ANI reported. MIT is a constituent unit of MAHE.
State Health and Medical Education Minister, Dr K Sudhakar, said that all containment zone guidelines are being followed at the institute. "59 students have tested positive in the Manipal Institution. Our District Commissioner has gone to the site and declared it a containment zone. All containment zone guidelines are being followed. They will all be traced, isolated, monitored and tested," he said.
Karnataka has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks. The southen state reported over 1,000 new cases for the second day running with active cases crossing the 10,000-mark after weeks of lower numbers. Apart from state capital Bengaluru, Kalaburagi and Bidar remain the worst-affected districts.
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