The local administration of Udupi district in Karnataka has declared the Manipal Institute of Technology campus as a containment zone following a drastic surge in Covid-19 cases.
According to G Jagadeesha, Deputy Commissioner of the district, as many as 59 students have been reported to be infected by the deadly coronavirus within the college campus between March 11 and 16.
Suspension of in-person classes
The varsity, in a notification issued on late Wednesday evening, said that all theoretical classes have been moved online, while notifying students about the deferring of practical sessions as well as laboratory classes.
In addition, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) administration also decided to reschedule pending exams for the first semester B.Tech students to another date.
The movement of students in hostels and others residing in the campus has now been restricted for a period of at least two weeks.
Authorities have called for a fresh round of Covid-19 tests to be conducted on students in the campus once again. Only the faculty and essential duty staff, carrying pass/proper identification papers, will be allowed inside.
Second coronavirus wave in India
Raju K, Assistant Commissioner of Kundapura Sub-Division, has been appointed as the Incident Commander, who will be overall in-charge of the containment zone and will take necessary actions as specified in the containment zone notification.
Meanwhile, being a college town, the restrictions have only been imposed within the campus of the Manipal Institute of Technology and no other educational institutions in Manipal.
At present, India is witnessing a second coronavirus wave, with the office of the Prime Minister confirming it. From ramping up vaccination to RT-PCR testing (instead of antigen testing), PM Narendra Modi has urged all states to do whatever necessary to halt this viral surge at the earliest.
As per state-wise surge on Wednesday, Karnataka has logged 1,275 new Covid-19 cases and four related fatalities, taking the caseload to 9.63 lakh and the toll to 12,407, the state Health Department said. While, 42 new cases were reported from Udupi alone.
