COVID-19: 61 students test positive at IIM-Calcutta, isolated on campus
As many as 61 students at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta have tested positive for the coronavirus since April 2 and are currently in isolation on the campus, reports said today. Three doctors are in charge of the situation and the institute has collaborated with top hospitals in Kolkata for regular guidance. Here are more details on this.
All the infected students have mild symptoms and no one had to be hospitalized. Further, measures like oxygen cylinders and ambulances have been arranged in case of any emergency, said Professor Prashant Mishra, the President of IIM-C's COVID-19 committee. Most of the infected students are from the two-year MBA program and the others are from the one-year executive course, reported The Telegraph.
Even though classes are still being held online because of the pandemic, students have been brought back to the campus in phases so that they could use the institute's internet after several students complained of poor connectivity at their hometowns. The students were asked to bring negative RT-PCR reports, and by mid-January all of them had returned to the campus.
Seven students had reported positive on April 2, followed by six more on April 4, 12 on April 5, and 19 on April 6, according to a report by NDTV. Results of around 30 more tests are currently awaited. A sanitation drive is also underway. IIM-C authorities have said that all possible precautions to contain the spread are being taken.
It is likely that the outbreak happened after Holi celebrations by the students violating all the government advisories, sources told NDTV. "There must have been some person who was positive and it spread (sic)," the sources said. Meanwhile, students will likely stay on the campus even for the next academic session so as to use the internet facility, a teacher reportedly said.
India is presently in the middle of an unprecedented second wave of COVID-19 amid concerns over mutated strains of the virus and laxity among people in following protocols like wearing face masks. In fact, the country on Sunday reported nearly 1.7 lakh fresh infections, its biggest single-day spike yet, taking the nationwide tally past 1.35 crore. India's death toll stands at over 1.70 lakh.
