Edu institutions told to be extra cautious

Edu institutions told to be extra cautious

Kevin.Mendonsa@timesgroup.com

03.09.2021

The health department has ordered educational institutions in Dakshina Kannada to step up safety measures, after it was found that some institutions were not strictly enforcing Covid-19 protocols on the campus. Recently, three institutions were served notices for not following SOP.

Officials are also wary after a spike in cases were reported on campuses across the state. There have been outbreaks at a nursing college in Kolar and Bengaluru over the past week.

Health department officials say blatant violations have led to a surge in positive cases among students. After educational institutions reopened, a total of 792 students in Dakshina Kannada tested positive in the span of a month. This includes 620 students from Kerala, 76 from Dakshina Kannada and a dozen from Maharashtra, said Dr Ashok H, nodal officer for Covid-19.

“During our spot inspections, we found students who were supposed to be in mandatory quarantine, were freely mingling with others in the canteen and hostel mess. I’s likely some of them passed on the virus to more students,” said Dr Ashok.

Of the three institutions that were served notices, two are in Mangaluru and the other in Sullia. “We have warned them that a case will be booked under the Karnataka Epidemic Act. Fresh infections have been declining after we tightened the noose. We will continue to monitor the situation.”

Meanwhile, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, while speaking to reporters in Hubballi, reiterated that students, especially nursing students, who come from Kerala and stay in hostels in Karnataka should mandatorily be quarantined for a week and they should be tested at the end of their quarantine period to ensure they are not carrying the virus.