IIT-M Covid cluster grows; total 111 infected

With 32 more students at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) testing positive for Covid-19, the cluster’s tally on Tuesday went up to 111. The Tamil Nadu government has decided to go for saturation tests at the campus with over 3,080 of the total 7,490 students being tested so far.

The government said students in 19 hostels within the campus are being subjected to RT-PCR tests after the cluster was first found on April 19 with 12 persons testing positive for the novel Coronavirus. Tests on students are being conducted, a senior government official said, adding that 3,080 have been tested so far, while the samples of the remaining 4,000-odd students will be collected within the next few days.

Principal Secretary (Health) J Radhakrishnan visited the IIT-M campus on Tuesday and oversaw the sample collection process. “There is nothing to panic. We request people to take simple precautions like getting vaccinated and wearing masks,” Radhakrishnan said.

The emergence of a cluster within the IIT-M campus has triggered fear of a fourth wave in Tamil Nadu, which is reporting less than 100 fresh cases a day. However, the government is unwilling to take chances and is planning to organise a mega vaccination camp at one lakh centres across the state on May 8.

The state government has asked district collectors to intensify surveillance and conduct RT-PCR tests on people with travel history, while focussing on ensuring that jabs are given to those who have not been vaccinated as yet.

Radhakrishnan had on Sunday pushed for increased surveillance and ensure that those who have had a travel history and those who have been to places where crowds have gathered, including from within the state, to be subjected to RT-PCR tests if they develop symptoms.

Over 40 lakh persons are yet to take first dose and above 1.4 crore persons second dose, while many eligible for booster have also not taken it in the state.

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