Bhubaneswar: At a time when the coronavirus cases were coming down in the state, at least 25 students staying in hostels of a technology university in western Odisha Sambalpur district tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. According to updates from Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology at Burla in Sambalpur district, 25 students including a girl student tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 2 days.
Giving further details, Vice-chancellor of the university, Bibhuti Bhusan Pati told Hindustan Times that 16 students were admitted to the temporary quarantine centre inside the campus while 9 others have returned to their homes.
He also added that first-year students of the university need not visit the university or its hostel till the situation improves. According to updates, all classes will be held online from March 1 though the semester exams of the final year will be held in offline mode. The development comes just after one year when one of the professors of the university had lost her husband to Covid-19.
In the wake of the rising cases of coronavirus, the Odisha government has asked the school and mass education department to consider intra-school class promotion exams for class 9 and 11 through online exams.
The Odisha government on Saturday said week-long home isolation will be mandatory for people coming by plane or train from five high-risk states even as 86 new COVID-19 cases pushed the tally to 3,37,104.
On Saturday, Odisha reported 86 new COVID-19 cases in 21 districts. Sundergarh district reported the highest of 10 new cases followed by Khurda and Sambalpur (9 each). Dhenkanal district has become the COVID-19 free as no active cases existed in its jurisdiction.
On the other hand, the state’s coronavirus death toll remained at 1,915 as no fresh fatality has been reported since Thursday and other 53 COVID-19 positive patients have also died in the state due to comorbidities.