SAMBALPUR: The district administration declared all the 11 hostels of the VSSUT, Burla as micro-containment zones a day after 25 boarders were found to be Covid-19 positive. The adjacent areas of Pulaha hostel of the university have been declared as buffer zone. The restriction period, which began on Saturday, will remain in force till further orders.
According to the notice issued by the administration, only essential activities will be allowed in the micro-containment zones. There will be a strict perimeter to ensure that there is no movement of people in or out of these zones, except for medical emergencies and maintaining supply of essential goods and services. There will be intensive contact tracing, house-to-house surveillance and other clinical intervention as required.
The administration further stated that all vehicular movement including public transport will be stopped except extremely urgent medical cases. A control room having police, medical personnel and staff of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation will also function near Pulaha hostel. All inhabitants of containment and buffer zones will strictly remain inside homes. As a measure of perimeter control, all roads connected to the containment zones will be guarded by police.
The university authorities also issued strict instructions to boarders to not leave their hostels and have made arrangements to supply food and other essentials directly to the rooms. In-charge Vice-Chancellor BB Pati said only the hostels have been declared as containment zones, not the entire university campus. “We’ve decided to conduct classes through online mode for students.
The pending examinations of fourth year students will be held offline. The students will remain present physically during the examination. We are making adequate arrangements to ensure safety of the students and Covid-19 protocols will be strictly followed during the examination,” he added. However, the examination of fourth year students scheduled on Monday has been postponed till further notice due to the prevailing situation.