On a day when the case count in the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras here rose to 183, State Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said detailed guidelines under Standard Operating Procedure have been issued already by the government. If such norms, outlined in two Government Orders, were not followed to combat the pathogen spread, action would be taken against the management of institutions under The Epidemic Diseases Act and the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, he told reporters. Action would be taken if they become responsible for the virus spread, he said. "I am warning," he said, pointing out government departments alone would not be able to prevent the virus spread and all others including colleges should take up responsibility. 

Instances like students gathering in classrooms without following physical distancing and giving a go by to wearing masks or crowding in dining halls must be avoided, he said. The coronavirus outbreak in the IIT-M was an isolated cluster, Radhakrishnan said. Aggressive testing would be done in hostels and places like canteens located in educational institutions including varsities. Students of the IIT-M, who tested positive, were all stable and being treated at the state-run King''s Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research, the official said, adding he visited them. As many as 66,213 samples were tested (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction method) and totally 1,30,86,807 specimens have been examined under the RT-PCR in 232 labs in the state, the bulletin said.