NEET in Chennai: Candidate comes to exam hall wearing PPE

CHENNAI: A candidate came wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to write the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test ( NEET) at an exam centre in Chennai on Sunday.
It is mandatory that students wear masks. They can also wear gloves and face shield. But it is not clear if PPE is allowed.
Exam officials were surprised to see the precaution taken by the candidate and her family in view of Covid-19. She was allowed to enter the exam hall with PPE.
Shyam Dev Sharma, a junior warrant officer in the Indian Air Force, was transferred to Tambaram Air Force base in August.
"My daughter Geetanjali Sharma has been preparing for the exam for the last two years. Following my transfer, we changed the exam centre from Kota in Rajasthan to Chennai," he told TOI.
"Since we come from Tambaram, we thought it is better to wear PPE for our safety," he added.
Like him, many parents were anxious about the safety of their wards and peeping into the gates till their wards enter the halls.
Sreenivasan, another parent, was worried about his son spending long hours inside the exam hall without food. "We are coming from Tiruvannamalai and had breakfast early in the morning. We bought some snacks, but he did not eat anything," he said.
Candidates were allowed to enter the exam hall from 11 am. The exam starts at 2pm. It was drizzling in Chennai from morning.
Some candidates, who brought plastic pouches and gold ornaments, were seen rushing outside to hand them over to their parents.