Rourkela: Six more students and a staff of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela have tested positive for COVID-19. This information was given by NIT officials here Monday. With the new infections, the total number of positive cases in NIT has gone up to 14.
All students who have so far tested negative have been asked to vacate the hostels till further notice, informed Registrar Pradip Kumar Das, Tuesday. He also said that those who have come in contact with the infected students have been asked to stay in their hostels. They will only be allowed to leave if their COVID-19 test reports turn out to be negative.
According to sources around 2,000 students are presently staying in NIT’s hostels. However, till now approximately 400 students have so far undergone COVID-19 tests.
Notably, the first positive case was in a student from NIT was detected March 10. The second and third cases were detected March 15 and 22 respectively.
It should be stated here that President Ram Nath Kovind had visited the institute March 21 to attend its convocation. According to the college authorities, all the infected students were in isolation during the President’s visit. However, one day later, another student tested positive for the virus.
Between March 22 and 25, four more students tested positive for COVID-19, forcing the NIT authorities to restrict the entry and exit persons from the campus.
With the COVID-19 cases rising inside the campus, outstation students are becoming restless as they are worried about the situation.
The district administration has been keeping a close watch on the COVID-19 situation in the campus. According to Rourkela ADM Aboli Sunil Naravane, the all measures are being taken to prevent the spread of the disease.
Officials also said that any student or teacher wanting to leave the campus will have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR test. If the reports come negative, only then will they be allowed to leave the institution. This precautionary measure is being taken to prevent the spread of the virus, officials said.
PNN
