CHENNAI: At least 10 students of Anna University’s Alagappa College of Technology have tested positive for Covid-19. After one of them was found to be infected on Wednesday, the Health Department tested all 300 students in the hostel, and found that at least nine of them have the coronavirus.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian visited the university and reviewed the situation on Thursday. He said all 763 students on campus are being tested. “Those who tested positive are asymptomatic and have been admitted to the King Institute at Guindy,” he added, and said samples from the cluster would be sent for genome sequencing to ascertain the variant of the virus.
He also expressed concern over educational institutes emerging as Covid clusters. Students don’t wear masks in the canteen, and sit close to each other, causing the virus to spread fast, the minister said.“Students must wear masks when they are in groups, and should practise physical distancing,” Subramanian said, and advised the university management to let students dine in batches and maintain physical distance.
He further stated that he would request the Union government to allow college students under the age of 18 to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, the School Education Department and Directorate of Collegiate Education are set to issue norms to be followed in hostels to prevent the transmission of Covid-19.
The health minister also said surveillance at airports in the State has been strengthened and all passengers from high-risk countries are being monitored. Samples from clusters are being sent for genome sequencing, he added.