IISc blames housekeepers for COVID-19 spread

BENGALURU: After an India-based multinational company faced a backlash for implying that coronavirus may be spreading through the domestic help, the top science institute in the country, Indian Institute of Science, tells its students that it is concerned that housekeeping staff are increasing the risk of spreading the infection.

The alert came after the institute witnessed another wave of cases and it now has at least 12 positive cases on the campus. It surged from one case September 7 to 12 now, an official source from the institute said.
“There is a concern that the housekeeping staff are using the washrooms and increasing the risk of infection among hostel residents,” an institute official told the students recently. 

Housekeeping staff were thereafter designated a set of washrooms in particular rooms in each block on campus -- S block, U block, PD block and N block. To ramp up their efforts in identifying cases on the campus, the institute set up a Covid Testing Facility recently, which is a collaborative effort of their health centre and Centre For Infectious Disease and Biosafety Lab. 

Now, symptomatic patients, primary contacts of Covid-positive patients, asymptomatic family members and asymptomatic primary contacts (co-workers and have co-morbidities) are being tested. While the campus has 12 active cases from among students, employees and their family members, there are 12 others associated with the institute and live off campus, who have tested positive.