The number of cases at the IIT Madras is currently increasing quickly as more than 30 people tested on Sunday.
On Sunday, 71 people including 66 students and 5 staff members tested positive while 33 more were found to have been infected on Monday. So far 444 people have been tested out of the 700 present on the campus.
In a statement issued on December 13, IIT-Madras said, “The Institute has been functioning on limited capacity with only 10% students in the hostels. As soon as a spurt in symptomatic cases was reported by some students residing in the hostels, the Institute has consulted the civic authorities and has arranged for all students residing in hostels to be tested for COVID. To be cautious, all students have been asked to remain in their rooms and packed food is being supplied to the students in the hostels.
“Some Project Staff working on research projects and staying in the city have been coming to work in the labs, once this was permitted by the government. A SoP (Standard operating procedure) is in place to determine how many scholars and project staff can work safely in each lab based on its size, ventilation etc,” said the statement. “Research scholars who wished to return earlier (out of turn with respect to the SoP involving quarantine before release into the hostels) were permitted to do so if they were willing to stay off campus similar to project staff, till their turn came to be accepted in the hostels, and provided their lab could accommodate them.”
Addressing the problem, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said that the cases were expected to rise as the lockdown were lifted.
