A Bengaluru nursing college was sealed on September 3 after 34 students in the college tested positive for COVID-19. The Christian Nursing College in Horamavu has been declared as a micro-containment zone.
Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar told the media after inspecting the college that that out of 300 students, 34 students had tested positive. The college has been sealed and safety precautions are being taken and the residents around will be tested as well, he said, according to The Hindu.
The students arrived in the city as the colleges were reopened on August 5. Initially, two students tested positive after being tested for showing symptoms.
Most of the students are in first-year nursing. The swab samples of primary and secondary contacts have been collected and sent for RT-PCR tests. The entire area has been sprayed with disinfectant to ensure hygiene, explained Mahadevapura Zone health officers.
The Health Minister added that the students who tested positive have been sent to COVID-19 Care Centres for isolation and that those in the college will be re-tested after seven-eight days.
Among 31 nursing students who tested positive, 20 hail from Kerala and 11 came from West Bengal. The campus has been sealed and the students who tested positive for COVID-19 are being treated at HAL Covid Care Centre.
Sudhakar added that 700-800 residents living near the college will be tested as well.
According to The New Indian Express report, the Health Minister added that the samples have been sent for genome sequencing. Meanwhile, he stressed that colleges have been directed to keep a strict vigil on the students arriving from other states. Pointing out that Karnataka is an education hub and has 800 nursing colleges, the Minister said that the schools and colleges across the state have to follow government rules.
The TNIE report further quoted Sudhakar asserting that the managements of schools and colleges should strictly verify whether the students returning from Kerala have been vaccinated and possess a negative RT-PCR report as per the guidelines issued for bordering districts since Kerala is witnessing a high number of cases.
The identification of a cluster in Bengaluru comes after a nursing college in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) was declared as a containment zone following multiple cases of COVID-19 were reported.
(With IANS inputs)