Tamil Nadu: Health Secretary J.Radhakrishnan on Saturday said that 25 more people have tested positive at IIT-Madras taking the total number of infected cases to 55 up from 30 and turning the educational institute into a Covid-19 cluster. “Till today, we have tested 1420 people of which 55 people have tested positive for Covid19 at IIT-Madras. All positive patients have mild symptoms and their condition is stable….No ‘XE’ variant detected in Tamil Nadu till now,” said Principal Secy-Health, Dr J Radhakrishnan.
We have also created an isolation facility that is being effectively utilized. Radhakrishnan and senior health department officials were inspecting the premises of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, here which reported 12 coronavirus cases on Thursday, even as 18 new infections have emerged on Friday. Mandagini hostel is reportedly the site of the Covid-19 cluster at IIT-Madras. First-year students from 13 states arrived at the hostel recently, and it is suspected that one of the new students might have been the carrier. Covid tests are being conducted in all 19 hostels on campus.
He said the covid-19 protocols should be strictly followed on the campus and the institute authorities have been given directions in this connection. “All the people who tested positive were having mild symptoms and they do not require hospitalisation. But, it has been decided to keep King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research as a reserve hospital”, the official said. Allaying fears of the spread of the virus, he said 1,16,451 beds were allotted to treat covid-19 patients at government hospitals and only 18 people were admitted.