IIT Roorkee turns into COVID-19 Hotspot: As per the latest update, IIT Roorkee – one of India’s premier technology schools, has turned into a COVID-19 hotspot with over 88 students from the institute testing positive for Coronavirus infection.
During the initial testing done on Tuesday, around 60 students were found to be positive for Coronavirus. Following this, the Haridwar district health department sample survey on campus during which another 20 students were found infected with the contagion on Thursday.
5 Hostels Sealed on Campus
Following the identification of a large number of cases from campus, the Haridwar District Administration has closed down the institute and declared 5 hostels as containment zones. The hostels that have been sealed include Cautley, Kasturba, Sarojini, Govind Bhavan, and Vigyan Kunj. As per media reports, of the total 3000 student strength of the institute, around 1200 students put up in these 5 hostels.
No Disruption in Online Classes
Despite the campus being sealed, online classes and virtual education is being carried out by the institute as per the guidelines to ensure academic continuity for the students. IIT Roorkee Spokesperson Ms. Sonika Shirivastva said that “there is no disruption in the online classes of the institute.” For students and staff members that are present on campus, the institute has laid out very strict COVID-19 guidelines and also issued orders for complete compliance of the same to curb the further spread of the disease.
Special COVID Care Centre on Campus
Following the identification of 88 students who had tested positive for the contagion on the campus, the institute has formed a special COVID-19 care center on the campus itself. Addressing the media persona, IIT Roorkee Spokesperson Ms. Srivastava said that all the 88 students have been kept in the Ganga hostel within the IIT premises which have been converted into a special Covid care center. She also added that students who are found positive for Coronavirus infection are under the observation of the Haridwar medical officials. Apart from this, one guest house and another establishment have been turned into quarantine centers for the first contacts of the infected students.