MADURAI: One-hundred-and-five postgraduate medical students who joined Madurai Medical College on June 1 have been under quarantine for a week now.
The Madurai Medical College has a total of 188 approved seats for postgraduate medical courses.
As on Wednesday, the first round of counseling to fill seats under the All-India quota and State quota was over, and of the 188 seats, 116 were filled. All the 116 joined the college on Monday, said sources.
All the se students are from various districts of Tamil Nadu.
One-hundred-and-five of them stay at the new postgraduate students' hostel, while the remaining are day-scholars. Students from other states have sent e-mails stating they would want to wait until the second round of counseling for All-India quota before joining, sources told The New Indian Express.
"Usually, students from other states join first and wait for the second round. Due to the pandemic and restrictions on travel, they have opted to wait," they added.
According to a circular issued by the Director of Medical College (DME), all medical colleges have been asked to quarantine the postgraduate students and to test them for COVID-19 before they join duty.
Adhering to the directive, the 105 students in hostel are in quarantine for about a week until Sunday. College Dean Dr J Sangumani is to take a final call on extension of the quarantine period, and on testing of the students, another official said on condition of anonymity. The Dean was unavailable for comment.