The number of Covid-19 cases shot up to 182 on Friday at a medical college in Karnataka’s Dharwad where a cultural festival had been held recently, while a residential school in Bangalore reported 34 infections.

After 59 medical students and seven teaching staff tested positive at SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital on Thursday, another 116 samples threw up a positive result on Friday as 700 more tests were conducted on students, faculty members and non-teaching staff.

None of the patients, who are quarantining in two hostel blocks, have severe symptoms. All of them had taken two doses of Covid vaccine.

Dharwad deputy commissioner Nitesh Patil told a media conference that all the 3,500 employees and students of the medical college and hospital were being tested and the results were expected by Saturday. “About 1,000 students and staff have already undergone Covid tests and we are doing the rest of the 2,500 tests today,” he said.

Additional teams have been rushed from neighbouring Hubli to man the three laboratories at Dharwad where Covid tests are conducted. “We have a capacity to test 3,000 samples a day. So we will get the complete picture tomorrow (Saturday),” the officer said.

“We are also doing genome sequencing to check what virus strain they have been infected with,” Patil added.

The district administration has taken several steps to prevent a larger outbreak by sealing the two hostel blocks where the infected people have been kept.

“We have instructed the medical college hospital not to allow any visitors, permit bystanders only for aged patients in need of assistance, and admit only emergency cases until all the results are available,” Patil said.

Dharwad, 430km from Bangalore, had been reporting few cases for several days before the outbreak, which began after students and staff of the medical college hospital participated in an annual cultural festival held on the campus on November 17.

The district administration on Friday kept shut all schools and anganwadi centre within a 500-metre radius of the medical college.

The Dharwad health department is checking the travel history of all those who have tested positive. “The students come from all over India and they had travelled to various places during the recent holidays,” Patil said.

While efforts are on to trace all primary and secondary contacts within the college campus, Patil urged all those who have come in contact with the 182 Covid patients outside to come forward and get tested.

“Apart from the cultural festival on November 17, there was a wedding (at the campus auditorium) on November 19. We urge all of them to get tested immediately,” the official said.

Dharwad district health officer Dr Yashwanth A. Madinkar told The Telegraph that the situation was under control. “We are maintaining full transparency in reporting the actual numbers and taking all precautions to prevent any further spread,” he said.

“Before this sudden surge, Dharwad had been reporting zero to five cases daily for many days. We can easily handle this situation since we don’t have too many cases,” Madinkar said.

A residential school, The International School Bangalore, reported 34 Covid cases on Friday, 33 of them students below 18 who are not eligible for vaccination and a hostel staff.

Bangalore district surveillance officer Dr N. Manohar told this newspaper that only the hostel employee was fully vaccinated.

“But all of them are asymptomatic and there is nothing to worry. We have tested all 497 students and staff and 67 results are awaited,” he said.

While 22 students have been isolated at the school’s infirmary, the rest are quarantining at their homes.

“The school will remain closed for seven days, after which we will do some more tests before taking a call on allowing physical classes,” said Manohar, who was among the officials who visited the school before sealing the campus.

It is suspected that two day scholars who live in Mahadevpura, a Bangalore suburb, may have triggered the outbreak since they had attended classes with mild Covid-like symptoms.

“We tested the remaining students and staff after these two students tested positive for Covid,” said a school source who declined to be named.