The district administration declared the Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) hostel of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) as a cluster zone after 18 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
District health officer Dr Nagabhushan Udupa told DH that 10 out of 18 Covid-19 positive people are from the MIT hostel. Those from MIT are primary contacts and are isolated. Three students from the pharmacy college also had tested positive for Covid. If the number of cases increases, the area will be declared as a cluster, he added.
9 cases in Mandya
Meanwhile, nine first-year MBBS students of Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) have tested positive for Covid in Mandya.
Their throat swabs and samples have been sent for the lab for further test due to the Omicron threat.
Of them, six are from Kerala. They visited Kerala on December 8 and returned on December 15. They tested negative during the Covid-19 screening before entering the State. They complained of fever on December 24 and were subjected to tests again. The tests revealed that they had contracted the virus.
Initially, only five tested positive. Later, four others too tested positive. Now, all the 400 students are being tested for the Covid-19.
MIMS Director Dr M R Harish said, "The Covid infected students are being treated separately and they are asymptomatic. As there is the Omicron threat, their swab samples have been sent for further tests."
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