10 students test positive for COVID-19 at IIT Bhubaneswar, arrival for next batch postponed

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar has postponed the arrival of the next batch of students scheduled for April 4 after 10 students tested positive for COVID-19. "All 10 students are now in the isolation centre of the institute and are being taken care of. In view of the positive cases upon entry, the Institute postponed the arrival of the next batch of students scheduled for April 4, 2021," IIT said in a statement on Sunday.

The institute, in the statement, further said that so far, the campus has been COVID free except for five cases in September 2020 and now some in the isolated quarantine center. The students were being brought to the campus in a phase-wise process and so far about 50 per cent of senior undergraduate and postgraduate students are on campus with 100 per cent of research students.

IIT Bhubaneswar has also made the RT-PCR test and 15 days quarantining mandatory for all students who are returning to campus from across the country. "During the quarantining period, the student health is monitored and food is delivered in the isolated room of a student. While in the first three batches, there was not even a single COVID case reported, in the fourth batch that arrived at the quarantine center of the institute during 20-22 of this month, three students' test reports with COVID-19 positive status were received late after arrival.

All in the entire floor of the quarantine center were tested and seven more students (mainly because of traveling/contacting the first three) were found positive." According to the state government's health department website, Odisha currently has 1,650 active Covid-19 cases. The state's cumulative case count is 3,40,194. 3,36,571 people have recovered and its Covid death toll is at 1,920.