Eighteen more students on Friday, April 22, tested positive for Covid at IIT-Madras. These were in addition to the 12 students who had tested positive earlier, taking the total number of recent infections on the campus to 30, reports ndtv.com

According to media reports, all of the positive cases were from college hostel. The IIT administration and health department have stepped up the sanitation efforts on the IIT campus. The administration has been asked to strengthen the preventive measures as well.

Tamil Nadu health secretary Dr. J. Radhakrishnan visited the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras on Thursday. Radhakrishnan while speaking to IANS said, “All the students who tested Covid-19 positive are now lodged in the IIT hostel at Taramani.”

He said that the students have a mild infection and added that wards at the General hospital, Guindy, are ready for the students if necessary. “The doctors at Guindy hospital have said that the students have a mild infection and they don’t need to be hospitalised as of now.”

On April 19 a student who had a cold, fever and headache tested positive for Covid-19, and the next day two more students also tested positive.

The IIT Madras authorities told IANS that on Wednesday 18 samples of close contacts of those who had turned positive were tested and it was found that 9 have contracted the infection.

Radhakrishnan said that around 3000 residents and their contacts will be tested for the virus. Some students had attended closed door workshops and other symposiums even after having a minor cold and fever.

He asked the students and staff to follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.

Tamil Nadu on Thursday reported 39 fresh Covid-19 cases, pushing the caseload to 34,53,390 as the state continued to witness an increasing trend.

The number of deaths remained 38,025 with zero fatalities being recorded in the last 24 hours, a medical bulletin said.

Government directed the health department to step up testing of samples to around 25,000 a day from the present 18,000 cases.