BENGALURU: A day after a nursing college in Horamavu reported 34 cases of COVID-19 infection, another cluster was detected in a nursing college in Dasarahalli on Saturday, with about 24 positive cases. There are over 450 students on the college campus, including 200 boys and 250 girls.
On August 30, one student of Dhanvantri Nursing College was found to be Covid-positive. After the case was detected, over 470 RT-PCR tests were done on the staff and students and seven boys, 14 girls and three teachers were found to be positive.
Following this, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has declared 18 rooms in the boys' hostel and 11 rooms in the girls’ hostel as containment zones. A BBMP zonal health official pointed out that they are not sure if there is an interstate connection to the outbreak.
"We are not sure if there was any inter-state travel. The matter is still being looked into. The students have gone to nearby markets and local stores where they may have contracted the virus," he said. About 90 per cent of the students and staff are vaccinated with the first dose and 10 per cent of the staff have completed both doses.
Palike Special Commissioner (Health) D Randeep pointed out that BBMP has been containing the clusters well.
"Since we have been conducting a high number of tests, we are able to track down positive cases quickly. It is still not a cause for concern. The advantage with hostels is that an immediate perimeter check can be done and the outbreak controlled, unlike in residential areas," he said.
About 20 of the positive students had been moved to COVID Care Centres and one has been put on an ICU ventilator bed at ESI Hospital, Rajajinagar. The three positive teachers have been allowed to quarantine themselves at home.
"If there are multiple clusters in a location, then institutional quarantine is mandatory for all positive cases. We do not allow people to quarantine themselves at home. Only those who test negative will be allowed to return to the area," Randeep added.