The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) commissioner Akshy Sridhar, on November 30, directed colleges to ensure that students coming from Kerala and Maharashtra get the RT-PCR test done while entering the city. He also asked the college authorities to make sure that a repeat COVID-19 test is done after seven days and again between December 12 and December 27. Further, Sridhar said that those travelling between Kerala and Mangaluru for education and job should get tested for COVID once every 14 days.

The decision was taken at a meeting held with the representatives of all medical, dental, engineering and other colleges — in order to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 amidst growing fears of the new variant, Omicron. The commissioner further directed educational institutions to postpone all in-person cultural programmes, workshops and seminars for two months and instead shift to virtual mode. The colleges were also asked to verify if all students have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Sridhar said that if a student or a group of students contract the virus, it is the responsibility of the college to follow COVID guidelines and isolate other students for seven days, after which they need to be tested for COVID.

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Further, the colleges are required to provide information about their students staying in paying guest accommodations and nominate a COVID nodal officer to communicate with the nearest Primary Health Care centre.