MANGALURU: The district health and family welfare department has issued a showcause notice to three institutions β a deemed-to-be university, a nursing college and a PU college β over Covid-19 cases.
Dakshina Kannada DHO Dr Ramachandra Bairy told TOI the colleges have been given three days to reply to the notice.
If the answer is not satisfactory, then a criminal case will be booked under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
The health department has questioned the registrar of the deemed-to-be university as to why students were allowed to go home.
It has also sought answers from two other colleges as to why preventive measures during the initial stage of infection when 1-2 cases were reported was not taken, he said.
Meanwhile, the department is keeping a close watch on education institutions in the district.
Of the 72 Covid-19 positive cases reported on Wednesday, 25 cases are from a paramedical college, two from a PU college and three from a first-grade college.
About 13 cases are from patients with an international travel history.
Three containment zones have been declared in the district and this includes two hostels of the deemed-to-be university, three hostels (two are of boys and one is of girls) of a paramedical college and one PU college.
These colleges have been asked to switch to online mode of teaching.
Dr H Ashok, nodal officer for Covid-19, said it is important for educational institutions to act responsibly and ensure that social distancing norms are followed to prevent the virus spread.
He said βOn March 11, we received information that three cases were reported from a paramedical college. We rushed there and saw that the college strength is around 700. We immediately took steps to see that swabs were collected and quarantine measures were taken. So far, the total number of positive cases on this campus is 50, of which 25 positive cases were reported on Wednesday alone. The rising number of cases in Kerala continues to be a major concern for Dakshina Kannada,β he said.