IIT Patna campus closed after 15 students tested COVID-19 positive

The Patna administration has said it will be conducting large-scale testing of students and teachers at the institute.

With coronavirus cases in Bihar continue to soar, 15 students at Indian Insitute of Technology (IIT) Patna have now tested positive after which the institute has been declared as a containment zone by the district administration. IIT Patna has now been shut down and locked for seven days. 

The Patna administration has said it will be conducting large-scale testing of students and teachers at the institute.

As per the sources, on Sunday, three students of the institute showed mild symptoms of infection following which testing of 41 more students was conducted as part of contact tracing out of which 12 tested positive. All 15 students who have been found to be infected are fourth-year B.Tech students. Infected students have been isolated in separate hostel buildings of the institute inside the premises.

On the other hand, the state government has cancelled the leaves of all health workers in the state until May 31 in view of the continuous spike in the COVID-19 cases.

Patna High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Karol has also tested positive and has been admitted to AIIMS, Patna. In the last 24 hours, 1,080 new cases have been reported in Bihar with the total number of active cases now standing at 4,954.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed officials to revive the quarantine centres at the block level in the state to tackle the rush of migrants returning to Bihar especially from Maharashtra and Punjab. Nitish has also directed to increase testing in the state.

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