Manipal Institute of Technology declared containment zone after 98 students test Covid positive

Bengaluru: With 98 students testing Covid positive in the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) campus of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), the Udupi district authorities on Thursday declared it a containment zone.

The MIT is one of the top ranking institutes in the country and over 33,000 students study in the MAHE, which has over 72 student clubs, that depict its diverse culture on the campus.

Nearly 6000 students use the hostel facilities on the campus and the MAHE has built 25 blocks of hostels in which these students reside. The MIT is a constituent unit of MAHE.

A senior official in Udupi said that the MIT was conducting Covid tests on all its students and taking steps to isolate any new cases.

Udupi district Covid nodal officer, Dr Prashant Bhat told Hans India that the district health administration had taken steps to declare the MIT campus as a containment zone due to the rise in Covid-19 cases.

Bhat said the reason for so many students testing positive in a gap of one week is being investigated.

The decision to declare the institute as a containment zone was taken by Udupi Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesha after 59 cases of Covid were reported on the campus between March 11 and 16.

The movement of students in hostels on the MIT campus, has been restricted for a week.

"Faculty and essential duty staff of MIT campus are allowed in the campus with proper pass/identification," Bhat added.

A nursing college in Mangaluru too has been declared as a containment zone as it reported 61 Covid positive cases in the last one week. "Nearly 1000 students study there and about 400 reside in campus hostels. Most of these students are from Kerala," a senior health official said.