Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Madras has closed down all departments, centers, and the library after 71 people tested positive for COVID since December 1, 2020. Out of the 71 people who tested positive, 66 are students. The faculty, staff, project staff, and research scholars will have to work from home till the next announcement is made.
As per the statement released by the Institute, students, scholars, and project staff members staying at the campus have been advised to confine themselves to their hostel rooms. Packed food is being supplied to the students in the hostels. Research scholars have been permitted who need to do experimental work to return to campus in a cautious manner with a 14-day quarantine and testing of each returnee.
The Institute is working on drafting Standard Operating Procedures, SOPs to determine how many scholars and project staff can work safely in each lab based on its size, ventilation, etc. Incase any research scholar wish to return earlier will be permitted to do so if they are willing to stay off-campus similar to project staff, till their turn came to be accepted in the hostels, and provided their lab could accommodate them, read the statement.
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A total of 774 students will be tested, of which samples of 408 students have already been lifted, said Tamil Nadu health secretary J Radhakrishnan. He also has written to all district collectors and Chennai Corporation Commissioner to monitor educational institutions and hostels to control the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, IIT Madras has collaborated with Wipro GE Healthcare Private Limited to provide increased opportunities for Research Scholars to build and further improve the innovation ecosystem. This partnership will create a platform for seamless collaboration with students and industry partners.
Courtesy: TimesNowNews
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