Follow-Up
By Shankar Raj
Bengaluru: The number of Covid-19 cases in the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) College of Medical Sciences and Hospital in Dharwad today went up from 66 to 182 forcing the district administration to seal the entire campus even as another cluster emerged in an international school in Bengaluru.
Of the 182 cases, 25 were doctors and medical staff. As these doctors had interacted with various patients, visited clinics and nursing homes, the district administration decided to close the entire campus.
SAMPLES SENT
A worried health department rushed samples from Dharwad to Bengaluru for genome sequencing to find out if a new variant had emerged. The reports are expected by Saturday evening.
Sources say that it was a freshers’ party at the medical college that turned into a superspreading event, sending health officials into a tizzy.
Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Nitesh Patil told the media that Out Patients Department (OPD) in the hospital has been closed for three days, and the entry of visitors and attendants of patients had been banned.
Also read: 66 fully vaccinated medical college students test Covid positive in Dharwad
All the patients undergoing treatment in the hospital are also being tested for the infection, and only those who have tested negative for the Covid-19 pandemic are being discharged.
As a precautionary measure, the schools and colleges in a radius of 500 metres from the SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital campus have been closed.
ANOTHER CLUSTER
Meanwhile, another cluster emerged in Bengaluru with 33 students and one staffer at The International School Bangalore testing positive. Covid positive cases were first reported when two children from Nagpur complained of fever and Covid-19 like symptoms. They were tested and found to be infected. Since it is a boarding school, all students and staff were subsequently tested.
After the cases emerged, the school shifted back to online schooling. “Students have been sent back. There are some international students left who will also travel back to their homes soon. We will switch to online classes,” a senior management member was quoted in the media.
Another school – the Indus International School – had to shut down after two students, who are siblings, tested positive recently. It was closed for four days and will reopen on Monday for offline classes.
Other international schools have also decided to test students.
*Shankar Raj is former Editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs. The views expressed are personal.
