111 new COVID-19 cases at Manipal institute of tech, cluster up to 483 cases

Health officials in Udupi said that most of the students who tested positive were asymptomatic and are isolated in the campus.
MIT quadrangle
MIT quadrangle
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One hundred and eleven new COVID-19 infections were reported among students tested in the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Udupi district which was declared a containment zone last week. The total number of cases connected to the cluster is now 483. Health officials in Udupi said that most of the students who tested positive were asymptomatic and isolated in the campus. 

The testing in the campus was extended to all students on Tuesday and a Health Department official confirmed to TNM that almost all the students inside the campus were tested once. "We decided to prioritise the testing of students inside the campus. Roughly, 3,400 students were tested," said Prashant. Bhat, the nodal officer for COVID-19 in Udupi district said.

Fever clinics and testing facilities have been set up inside the MIT campus by Kasturba Medical College (KMC), a constituent college of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). "We are trying to minimise the further spread of the infection and isolate the students who tested positive. We will wait for all the test results and we will be scrutinising the students for any possible exposure to the infection before any decision is made on allowing students to leave the campus," Prashant Bhat, the nodal official added. 

Containment zones can be de-notified after a period of two weeks. The containment zone restrictions are currently limited to the MIT campus area in the town, particularly the hostels for both boys and girls. There are no restrictions in other areas including the KMC campus.

Udupi district reported 145 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday taking the total active cases in the district to 595. 

The Karnataka government has also announced that a negative RT-PCR test certificate is necessary for travellers entering Bengaluru from any other state, starting from April 1. A negative RT-PCR test certificate is necessary to travel to other parts of Karnataka from Kerala, Punjab, Maharashtra and Chandigarh.

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