Around 50 students from Andhra University Engineering College (AUCE) hostel have tested COVID-19 positive. All the cases came to light after contact tracing and testing were done within the campus, according to the Health Department officials.
The AUCE hostels opened on March 17 and examination was being conducted for second and third-year students.
On March 21, a student fell sick and he was taken away by his parents to their native place. Later, he tested COVID-19 positive.
“After coming to know about it, we requested the district administration and the Health Department to conduct test across all the hostels in the AUCE campus,” said Vice-Chancellor P.V.G.D. Prasad Reddy.
District Medical and Health Officer Suryanarayana confirmed that about 580 samples were collected and about 50 tested positive on Friday.“All the cases are asymptomatic and we are closely monitoring the situation. There is no need to panic,” he said.
Speaking to The Hindu , Prof. Prasad Reddy said that priority is being given to containing the spread and by Saturday all the 1,200 students who are in the hostel will be tested.
Exams rescheduled
For the time being the examinations for the engineering streams are being rescheduled and students can see the updates on the official website of AUCE, he said. “We strongly advise students not to heed to any message in the social media,” said Prof. Prasad Reddy.
For the time being the focus is being laid at the AUCE campus and later the AU authorities will focus on the other colleges such as humanities and sciences.
The DMHO also said that the Health Department was working in coordination with the varsity officials. The premises is being sanitised and students are being quarantined, he added.
He said that to avoid crowding of the hostels, the students were being called in batches and one room was being allotted to one student.
