ROURKELA: Fresh cloud of uncertainty surrounded the phase-wise reopening of National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R) after three BTech final year students, two professors and five of their family members tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday.
NIT-R registrar Prof PK Das said a final year girl student returned to the campus with Covid negative report and stayed in quarantine for a week. Her second Covid test was done and the report came positive a day back. She has been kept at the Covid care centre on the campus.
Similarly, two BTech students tested positive on arrival following which they were put in quarantine. The two infected professors and their family members had returned from West Bengal on Sunday. They are in home isolation after testing positive.
Sources said from first week of December, BTech final year students started returning to the campus in different phases. For entering the campus, students have to produce mandatory Covid negative report, undergo week-long isolation and then go for a second test.
Prof Das said currently, around 2,500 final year students of PhD, PG, MTech and BTech programmes are on the campus. The institute had planned to bring second and third year students, who are yet to attend physical classes, to the campus in phases. But now, the NIT-R administration is forced to postpone the exercise after detection of Covid cases.
After easing of Covid cases in 2021, final year students of BTech and other PG programmes had returned to the campus by March for physical classes. But after 20 positive cases were detected, majority of the students launched a campaign for online examination. On April 14, the institute ordered closure of hostels for around 2,000 students of autumn and spring semesters in BTech, MA, MSc and MBA programmes. Only PhD students, research fellows and final year students of MTech and Dual Degree with pending project work were allowed to stay.
Meanwhile, inoculation of teenagers in the 15-18 age group across Sundargarh district kicked off on the day. Chief district medical and public health officer Dr SK Mishra said in rest of Sundargarh except Rourkela, the vaccination programme received a mixed response and in most rural pockets, the drive was sluggish.
Resurgence of virus
Currently, around 2,500 final year students of different programmes are on campus