A high alert has been sounded in Mysuru district after 72 students from Kerala, undergoing nursing courses in the city, tested positive for COVID-19, health department officials said on Wednesday. Deputy Commissioner Bagadi Gautham has ordered conducting as many as 5,000 COVID tests in Mysuru to detect the cases early and prevent the spread of the virus.

About 43 students of Kaveri Nursing hostel and 29 students of Saint Joseph College tested positive creating panic among people and health authorities. According to the officials, the district administration has implemented strict measures at the entry points to Mysuru from Kerala. RT-PCR test negative results have been made compulsory for travellers.

Mysuru had suffered heavily during both the waves of COVID and recorded the second-highest number of cases in the state for a long time. The lockdown after the second wave was lifted much later as the number of COVID positive cases kept on rising. Expressing confidence that the infection will soon be contained, District in-charge Minister ST Somashekar said that all necessary precautions are being taken in Mysuru as well as Chamarajanagar districts.

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Meanwhile, respite came from Bellary after two South African nationals' samples tested negative for the Delta variant of the virus. The samples were collected and sent for testing fearing a new Omicron variant. Health Officer Dr Bhaskar confirmed that the tests were negative and the family members who came in touch with them have been quarantined and monitored for symptoms.