TN: 52 MBBS students of Kancheepuram medical college test Covid-19 positive
Chennai: The Meenakshi Medical College Hospital and Research Institute of Kancheepuram district have switched back to online classes after 52 first-year MBBS students of the institute were tested COVID positive.
With the recent surge in the number of COVID cases in the country, the college authorities have decided to conduct online classes for 1st and 2nd-year MBBS students instead of on-campus classes. The authorities have also shut down the hostel campus. However, the final year students were allowed to stay as they have to appear for their exams.
Dean of the institute, Dr. K V Rajasekhar stated that the college ordered an RTPCR test for the medicos and the staff after 6 students were tested COVID positive a few days ago.
He told Times of India, "Simultaneously, we asked all their primary and secondary contacts on campus to get themselves tested. Besides 228 students, hostel and mess staff and faculty members were tested. In this group, 46 students tested positive."
According to the daily, all the medicos who have been tested positive for coronavirus have already been placed in an isolation ward of the hospital attached to the medical college.
The District Public Health officer Dr. BK Palani stated that the condition of the students was stable. "We have advised home quarantine for students who tested negative," he said. While all the students have been instructed to vacate the campus at the earliest, authorities had to allow the final year students to stay as they have to appear for their examination.
After remaining shut for over nine months on the pretext of the coronavirus pandemic, the colleges and schools in the state started reopening partially from the second week of January. However, under the current circumstances, after the 52 students got infected with COVID in the institution, the college authorities have given more importance to the safety measures and cancelled on-campus classes taking precaution against the pandemic. The institution will be holding online classes for the medicos till the situation improves.
Earlier, BJ Medical College in Ahemdabad had decided to conduct online classes instead of on-campus classes for 1st-year MBBS students. The decision had come after four first-year MBBS students of the college were tested positive for COVID-19. Some other medical colleges in Gujarat also followed BJ College and called off on-campus classes a few days ago.
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