Nursing college in Ullal declared Covid-19 containment zone

A private nursing college in Ullal has been declared as containment zone after 49 students tested positive for Covid-19. The college and its hostel have been sealed and all the students are quarantined. All the students hail from Kerala, said District Nodal Officer Dr. Ashok.

On January 29, six of the symptomatic students had visited Ullal CHC for testing and were tested positive for Covid-19. Having realised six positive cases, officials from the department of health and family welfare rushed to the college and collected swabs of all 120 students, faculties, non-teaching staff of the college.

On Wednesday, the report of 38 students has been confirmed with Covid-19. A group of students from Kerala, while travelling to Bengaluru, had visited the college in Ullal, had breakfast and used the toilet, bathroom before leaving. On receiving the news, the department in association with Ullal CMC made arrangement to sanitise the bathrooms, toilets and canteen, said officials.

The Covid-19 positive students are being treated in the college in Ullal under the supervision of the nodal officer of the institution and the health department.

All the students have been asked to remain in quarantine. The overcrowding of students in hostel rooms has been rearranged by converting a few classrooms for quarantine. The boys hostel of the college was situated one and a half kilometre away from the college. All the students from boys hostel too have been shifted to the college for quarantine.

“In spite of RT-PCR negative report mandatory for the students arriving from Kerala, several students come with the negative report obtained from Rapid Antigen Test and the institutions failed to adhere to the SOP issued by the state government. The issue has been brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner who in turn has also decided to bring it to the notice of the state government,” said Dr Ashok.

It may be recalled that more than 100 nursing students of two nursing colleges in Mangaluru too had tested positive for Covid-19 recently.