With the continued spurt in new COVID-19 cases, Udupi district reported 170 cases on Sunday. Of these, 145 cases were reported from Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) campus alone.
Now, the total number of fresh COVID-19 cases reported from MIT campus has touched 300.
Udupi District Health Officer Sudhirchandra Sooda said that the 145 students who tested positive on MIT campus are primary contacts of students who tested positive a few days ago. However, they are all asymptomatic. The Udupi district administration declared the MIT campus as containment zone after 52 students tested positive on March 16 and 17. The district administration decided to test all the 5,000 students on campus. “Testing of all students is now on,” Dr. Sooda said.
Meanwhile, MIT Director D. Srikanth Rao has, in a letter on March 20, asked students not to make any travel plans until the district administration lifts the rules pertaining to the containment zone.
Asking students to remain on campus, Mr. Rao said that they should restrict their movement to essential things. The Community Medicine Department of Kastruba Medical College and the Health Department were managing the fever clinic and testing facility on MIT campus. Screening and testing based on symptoms and primary contacts will be carried out at these facilities.
Assuring support from the institute and all faculty members to students, Mr. Rao said that teacher guardians (for first year students) and class coordinators (for higher semesters) will be in constant touch with students. Block wardens, caretakers and security staff will also be available for assistance, comfort and help, he said.
With the discharge of 24 patients, the number of active cases in Udupi on Sunday rose to 358.
In Dakshina Kannada, there were 54 new COVID-19 cases. As many as 19 patients were discharged on Sunday taking the number of active cases to 527. A fine of ₹ 38.05 lakh has been collected in 36,978 cases of people not wearing masks so far, said a bulletin from the Dakshina Kannada district administration.
