JNU pharmacist tests +ve, students asked to vacate hostels again

NEW DELHI: After a pharmacist at the Jawaharlal Nehru University Health Centre tested positive for COVID-19, the Dean of Students has issued a circular, yet again asking all students to vacate hostel rooms in light of the pandemic and said that the reopening of the campus may now be deferred till August 15.

After the JNU pharmacist’s test report came back positive, the administration issued this circular on Monday, saying that they were complying with all orders and directions issued by the Centre and the Delhi govt with regards to containing the virus.

As per students, the only contact tracing effort from the administration has been to ask all students who have come in contact with the

Pharmacist to home quarantine themselves. However, this contradicts it’s request asking students to vacate hostels.

JNUSU Vice President Saket Moon said that this request was insensitive on the administration’s part and that this was essentially “asking students to put themselves at a significant risk of exposure to the virus by asking them to go back home”.

Moon added that the JNUSU had also written to the Dean of Students, suggesting that the varsity’s infrastructure be used to set up quarantine centres for infected persons or suspects inside the campus.

“This would also allow students stranded outside the campus to return as they can quarantine themselves at these centres before entering their hostel rooms,” Moon said.