IIT Delhi campus: Covid positive students feel at home

From isolation wards to availability of ambulance and even testing centre on campus, IIT Delhi has most facilities in place to help students within the premises who are battling the third Covid wave.

The rapid spread of Covid-19 in the city has made its way to the hostels of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi as well. Though quite a few students have gone back to their homes, but there are still some who continue to stay in the hostels. And these students say that the campus is like a home away from home for them because the institute is leaving no stone unturned in taking care of those who are turning Covid positive.

IIT Delhi hostellers have Covid testing and isolation facilities on their campus.

Quarantine centre and testing facilities

Students who experience symptoms of Covid-19 don’t have to step out of the premises, even to get themselves tested. The institute has created a testing centre as well as an isolation ward for the students on campus. “A friend of mine attended a house party recently and then started experiencing Covid symptoms from the very next day,” says Rohan Sharma, a final year student of textile technology, adding, “My friend was immediately tested at the RT PCR centre in our campus and then an ambulance took her to the isolation ward, which is actually the Gulmohar guest house. If the capacity exceeds there, then the ambulance drops off the patients at another quarantine facility outside the campus. My friend stayed at Gulmohar for seven days and is back now after recovering. It was really nice to see how well she was taken care of.”

Students have the provision to get tested for Covid while being within the campus premises.

In room service during quarantine

Before a student is taken to the isolation centre, they are asked to quarantine in their rooms. “During this time, the institute has been providing room service of food and other necessities,” says Abhinav Gupta, a fourth year student of textile and fibre engineering. He adds: “All Covid precautions are being followed. If there is someone who is quarantined in his room, food is delivered right till the doorstep by the college authorities. They pack whatever is cooked in plastic containers, so that those can be discarded later. Also, proper cleanliness is being maintained.”

Individual rooms to not mess slots

Prevention is better than cure and the students of IIT Delhi say that their college management is making sure to keep it safe for all of them during this time. “We have all been allotted individual rooms and are not required to share the room with anyone. This helps as it reduces the chance of transmission of the virus. Also, we are supposed to wear a mask at all times, even while using the common washroom. Although I just hope there was someone to make sure that quarantine is not broken, maybe someone could patrol,” adds Gupta.

And Saurabh, a final year student of production and industrial engineering, says, “Our mess committee has divided the dining hours into four slots, and assigned two wings per slot. Normally we can go and eat between 8am to 10am, Noon to 2pm, and 7pm to 9pm. But now, to fight the rise in Covid cases, they’ve bifurcated the available eating slots in segments. This works for us all.”

Author tweets @anjuri

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