Lucknow University old campus shut for a week as woman professor tests positive

LUCKNOW: All departments in the Lucknow University old campus on Monday announced to shut and suspend all activities for a week due to Covid-19 scare, a day after it was disclosed that a woman professor, who tested positive to coronavirus, had met several professors apart from participating in a meeting a few days before being tested for Covid-19. Her husband also tested positive to the infection on Monday.
Vice-chancellor Prof AK Rai will be on a week's leave from Tuesday. "My sanctioned leaves are due and I have not taken a break since long," he said, when asked if would go into self-quarantine. On Sunday, LU asked seven teachers and an officer who came in contact with the woman professor to go into 14-day home-quarantine and undergo a test if covid symptoms surface. The varsity also suspended academic work till June 30 and advised teachers to stay home. Only essential administrative work, including preparations for admissions will continue. LU has also begun a sanitization drive on the campus. The faculties on old campus include arts, science, commerce and education, while law and engineering are taught in the second campus.
Teaching and non-teaching staff, however, demanded complete closure for 10 days as teachers who met the infected woman professor, later went around the campus and met colleagues.
"Although we maintain social distancing, the possibility of getting infected cannot be ruled out. It would be prudent to stay home for some time while the university sanitises the entire campus," said general secretary Lucknow University Teachers' Association Prof Vineet Verma. "Fears are genuine because we handle same files, printers and computers, which had been touched by teachers," said Rakesh Yadav, secretary of Lucknow University Employees Association.
The woman professor who has been admitted to SGPGI provided health officers with names of seven colleagues and an LU officer whom she met over the past few days. Now, the department has begun a contact tracing drive, said additional CMO A Raja.