At a time when life is almost bouncing back to normalcy in Karnataka, at least 66 medical students studying at a college in Dharwad district have tested positive for COVID, Health Department officials said on November 25. All of them are MBBS students at the SDM Medical College, and about 40 of them had attended a get-together organised in the college, a few days ago. All the students had taken two doses of vaccination and are asymptomatic.
Confirming the development to The Hindu, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Nitesh Patil said that the number might go up as more students had been at the party. All those who tested positive are first-year students. Many of the students enrolled in the college are from other states. The students are quarantined in their hostel rooms and being monitored. District Health Officer Dr Yashvanth Madanikar visited the hostel and took stock of the situation. Meanwhile, the authorities are getting the whole campus sanitised, it has been sealed down immediately.
The Health Department officials have been repeatedly asking people to not neglect social distancing and have been urging them to continue using masks at public places. In another similar event, over 22 MBBS students studying at the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) have tested positive for COVID after a college function.The college, located at Burla in Odisha's Sambalpur district, had organised its annual function, UTKARSH-21 on November 13 and 14. The event was attended by hundreds of medical students and many of them violated COVID-19 guidelines, reported medical dialogues. Students were not wearing masks at the event and social distancing rules were breached.