Asymptomatic traveller asked to leave IIT-B guesthouse

An asymptomatic foreign traveller, who allegedly checked into a guest house at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) on Saturday, was asked leave the

An asymptomatic foreign traveller, who allegedly checked into a guest house at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) on Saturday, was asked leave the premises immediately in the interest of the safety of campus residents. This comes days after the IIT-B campus was converted into a quarantine facility for asymptomatic flyers from foreign destinations.

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The traveller allegedly checked into one of the guest houses of IIT-B with the help of a faculty member after he could not find any other option. Director Subhasis Chaudhuri, in a social media post, said: “At a time when the IIT-B campus is fully panicked and shivering to the bone due to impending arrival of a large number of Covid-19 suspects (international travellers arriving at Mumbai airport) to get quarantined in the campus…I had to take the most inhumanly humane decision in my life. Somehow an unrelated international traveller (non-symptomatic) through the help of a faculty member checked in to our guest house on their own as they might not have had other options…and (I) finally took seemingly the most inhuman decision — the traveller must leave the campus immediately! But I continue to feel bad about my helplessness. May God save the traveller also.”

Four buildings inside the IIT-B campus have been converted into quarantine facilities for asymptomatic fliers coming into the city from international destinations.

In an email to students, faculty and campus residents on Thursday titled “campus becomes a designated quarantine zone for Mumbai”, Chaudhuri had announced that by an executive order of the Mumbai district collector, several buildings on campus were to be used as a quarantine facility for C-category fliers (those without symptoms). The designated buildings are Vanvihar guesthouse, hostel 18, B wing of hostel 8 and MTNL guest rooms.

The director advised residents to ensure maximum protection. He said that the order was despite ‘strong objections and efforts’ of the institute administration. A senior official told HT that only first and second year students had vacated hostels and the rest were living on campus.