St Xavier’s College will remain shut at least till May 15 because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the authorities have announced.

Jadavpur University, too, has extended the closure of the campus at least May 17.

St Xavier’s College decided to extend the closure, which was to continue till May 9, after an employee in the central library died of Covid on May 4.

Father Dominic Savio, the principal of the college, said employees were scared to enter the campus following the death of a colleague.

“Apart from the fear factor, many of our staff have tested positive and are in home isolation. The government has imposed a partial lockdown to avoid exposure to any public place as much as possible…. So we are extending the closure,” the principal said.

St Xavier’s University has set up a 40-bed isolation-cum-pre-hospitalisation centre on its campus in New Town for Covid-19 patients in the vicinity who lack facilities to stay isolated at home. The centre will be operational from Monday afternoon. Father Felix Raj, the vice-chancellor of the university, said only male patients would be admitted. The beds have been set up on the ground floor of the Arrupe Building — named after Fr. Arrupe — which is spread across 3,000 sq ft. The centre has been set up in association with New Town Kolkata Development Authority and the district administration. The university will engage its own fleet of ambulances to transport patients. Additional ambulances will be hired from private facilities. Doctors and nurses will be hired from private hospitals, an official of the university said. Reporting by Subhankar Chowdhury

Although classes are being held online from March last year as a precaution against Covid, students were allowed till April 30 to visit the campus for urgent work during office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. With the new order coming into effect, all offices, labs, libraries and other facilities will now remain shut till May 15.

The authorities will decide on reopening the college after May 15 after assessing the situation, said an official.

Father Dominic Savio said one of the factors that prompted them to defer the reopening of the campus was the fact that public transport had thinned. The state government has suspended local trains and reduced the number of buses to try and contain the spread of Covid.

“During a situation like this asking our staff to come to the campus will be inhuman. There is a widespread apprehension that the situation could worsen and so we thought it would be prudent to defer the reopening of the campus,” the principal said.

The Raghabpur campus of the college, in South 24-Parganas, has also been shut as a precaution against Covid. The campus is likely to be turned into a safe home for the students and their family members who will test positive for Covid.

A notice issued by JU on Sunday said “in view of the rising number of teachers, officers, research scholars, students and employees becoming infected by Covid 19, the university will remain closed till 17th May 2021, except for some urgent office services like Finance and Examination, if required”.

The campus was closed on April 24 and was to reopen on May 10.

“Laboratories will remain closed, except where continuous nurturing of living organisms and monitoring of instruments are required,” the notice says.