Forty nursing students from neighbouring Kerala have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting authorities to seal their college here as a precautionary measure on Wednesday, official sources said.

The direction to seal the Aaliyah Institute of Nursing at Ullal in coastal Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, bordering Kerala, was given by the city municipality.

Municipal Commissioner Rayappa said 40 students from Kerala studying in the college tested positive for COVID-19 after which the district health officer, nodal officer and himself visited the college and issued the order.

The area has been sealed and other students have been isolated from the infected, he said. The step has been taken as a precautionary measure and people need not panic, Rayyappa added.

All students from Kerala, which is still witnessing high caseload compared to several other states, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have been directed to take the mandatory COVID-19 test before attending college.