A total of 26 students and staff have tested positive in the latest round of tests at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus. While the JNU Students' Union had a long-standing demand for a separate quarantine centre for those who are affected, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's (ABVP) JNU unit has also asked the administration to take cognisance of the matter and sterilise the campus. They also asked the administration to provide immunity boosters recommended by the AYUSH Ministry.
After around 2100 staff and students were reportedly tested, the results came back today and 24 staff members and two students out of the 350 residing on campus have been found positive. "After a COVID-19 testing camp was set up by the administration for campus residents, we saw a spike in COVID-19 cases recently. Effective sanitisation drive on campus is urgently required to dampen the impact of corona on students," said ABVP-JNU unit President Shivam Chaurasia. ABVP JNU Unit Secretary, Govind Dangi added, "Those students who could not go back are facing the threat of COVID-19 transmission in hostels. Hence, we have requested the administration to provide the students with natural immunity boosters prescribed in Ayurveda."
The left-led JNUSU has been urging the administration to set up a quarantine facility among other issues but has not got any reply as of yet, "We have been trying to talk to the administration for a long time now but have not got any reply. We have been asking for a separate quarantine centre for both students and staff on campus," said Saket Moon, Vice-President, JNUSU and added that it is imperative that students come together to work together in these torrid times.
