54 IIT-Jodhpur students test positive for infection
JODHPUR: Around 70 people, including 54 students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Jodhpur, have tested positive for Covid-19 in the second wave of the virus infection at the institute, an official said on Monday.
Out of the 54 students, 51 students are currently admitted in super isolation facility, the official said.
The first case in the second wave of Covid-19 spread at the institute was reported on March 10, following which 54 students have been found positive so far, said Amardeep Sharma, the joint registrar of IIT-Jodhpur, who is associated with Covid-19 management at the institute.
He said some people engaged in housekeeping, security and other services have also tested positive for Covid-19, but they are residing in Jodhpur city.
“IIT-Jodhpur has allowed post-graduate and PhD students to come to the campus for carrying out their thesis and project work. Presently, the Institute is following trimester mode for the ongoing academic session and hosted small batches of students for completion of their laboratory exercises, which are fundamental for engineering and science education,” Sharma said.
“Now, the institute is hosting less than 50% of its student strength. Some UG and first year PG students have come to the campus due to limited access to the internet at their home and other circumstantial problems. As and when students are arriving from other states to the institute, they are being sent directly to the designated isolation wards. All students in isolation wards are getting tested for Covid-19 on the fifth day of their arrival. Only after obtaining a negative RT-PCR report, they are allotted rooms in regular hostels,” he added.
Sharma further said that if found positive, they are being shifted to a super-isolation facility centre from the isolation ward for the next 14 days.
The Institute is following all the Covid-19 protocols as released from time to time by the state government and health ministry. IIT-Jodhpur is also conducting random testing of all hostel residents on a regular basis in association with AIIMS Jodhpur, he said.
“IIT has exhaustively followed the policy of testing, detecting, isolating and tracing to break the chain of infections by conducting more than 200 RT-PCR tests daily over the last few days. It is maintaining a bio-bubble for all supporting staff. The isolation ward and superisolation wards are being used for home isolation for the last 8-9 months with all requisite arrangements,” he claimed.
Meanwhile, divisional commissioner Dr Rajesh Sharma visited the IIT campus on Sunday and inquired about the steps taken by the authrities to prevent the Covid-19 spread.