34 nursing students test Covid positive in Bengaluru
Officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) Maharadevapura zone confirmed that 34 students, including 22 girls and 12 boys, have tested positive for Covid-19 at Christian Nursing College in Bengaluru’s Horamavu area. Most of those infected came to Bengaluru from Kerala early last month, officials said.
As many as 34 students at a private nursing college in Bengaluru have tested positive for Covid-19 since August 28, making it the biggest coronavirus disease cluster in the city, which has seen fresh infection cases ebb in the past few weeks.
Officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) Maharadevapura zone confirmed that 34 students, including 22 girls and 12 boys, have tested positive for Covid-19 at Christian Nursing College in Bengaluru’s Horamavu area. Most of those infected came to Bengaluru from Kerala early last month, officials said.
“The infected students are currently undergoing treatment at a Covid care centre and none of them has any serious symptoms. All of them have received at least the first of the vaccine,” a civic official said, requesting anonymity.
BBMC officials said that all students arrived at the nursing college in Bengaluru on August 5 and they carried RT-PCR negative test results with them on arrival. It is likely that one of them contracted the virus in Bengaluru itself, an official said.
The first case in the cluster came to light when three students who shared a room in the girls’ hostel showed symptoms of Covid-19. On August 28, at least 10 students tested positive for the infection, officials said. While testing the primary and secondary contacts of these students in the girls’ hostel, 12 more tested positive for Covid-19 on August 30.
“A day later we also tested occupants of the boys’ hostel and other building nearby, including teaching and non-teaching staff in the college. During these tests, 12 more students tested positive,” a BBMP official said, adding that they learnt that students had ordered food online and also visited local stores.
The college and hostel buildings have been sealed and marked as containment zone, officials said, adding that offline classes have been suspended. The local police station has been informed about the containment zone, which has now been barricaded, said BBMP officials.
This comes after 32 students tested positive for Covid-19 at a private college in Kolar Gold Field on Wednesday.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said strict monitoring has been ordered on state’s borders with Kerala. “We have already started a special drive. We are vaccinating (people) within 20 km of the border, inside Karnataka. We are conducting tests at every village and checks are being conducted at different locations, such as bus and railway stations. For students, especially nursing students coming from Kerala, we have asked them to quarantine for a week and get RT-PCR test done (before starting classes),” said Bommai.
Karnataka on Thursday clocked 1,240 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the caseload to 29.52 lakh, while 22 deaths pushed the death toll to 37,361. The day also saw 1,252 people being discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 28,96,079. Active cases stood at 18,378, a health department bulletin said. Bengaluru Urban accounted for the maximum number of 319 cases and four fatalities, it said. Dakshina Kannada district bordering Kerala remained a major COVID-19 hotspot with 264 fresh infections and five fatalities.
So far, 44,000,960 beneficiaries have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine in the state, including 9,743,583 in Bengaluru.
On Monday, Karnataka announced fresh travel restrictions for those coming from Kerala, which has been witnessing highest daily caseload in the country for the past several weeks. In its order, the government has made institutional quarantine mandatory for students and employees entering the state from Kerala.
Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar told reporters on Thursday that quarantine arrangements must be made or paid for by the respective educational institutions and companies, firms, or offices of these students and employees. He added that the home quarantine of these individuals cannot be allowed under any circumstances.
“The students and employees must produce a negative RT-PCR test of not over 72 hours if they want to enter the state, irrespective of their vaccination status,” the minister added.