Odisha: College principal, owner booked for violating Covid protocol after cluster outbreak

After 56 students of the college tested positive for Covid, the administration allegedly asked them to leave the campus. The college premises have now been declared a micro-containment zone.

Singh will be kept in the safe custody of the police till her Covid test report is received and if she tests negative, she may be sent to the jail till Monday.

The owner and principal of a private residential college at Kunjakanta in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district have been booked for violating protocol after Covid-positive students from the institute were allegedly allowed to travel to their homes instead of being isolated on the campus, sparking fears of transmission, district officials said. Over 270 students have undergone Covid tests and 56 have so far tested positive.

Executive Officer of Dhenkanal Municipality Atanu Samanta said, “After we found out that the students were allowed to go home, which is extremely irresponsible, we lodged an FIR for negligence. Both the owner and the principal of the college have been booked for violating Covid protocol. The students are now being traced and all the people they came in contact with will also be traced and tested.”

Last week, four students tested positive for Covid, following which 33 tested positive on Wednesday and 19 more on Thursday. “While the students were advised to isolate under medical supervision on the campus until the test results were declared, the college administration asked them to leave the campus,” Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Sujatarani Mishra said.

“When we visited the campus, we found that the college authorities were not maintaining strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols,” Samanta added. The college authorities have also been served a show-cause notice for allowing the students to leave the campus without informing the district administration. The college premises have now been declared a micro-containment zone till December 10 and three hostels on the campus have been sealed.

Over the last week, cluster outbreaks have been reported in two other educational institutions in Sundargarh and Sambalpur district, respectively. As many as 42 students of St Mary’s Girls High School in Sundargarh and 31 MBBS students of Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Sambalpur’s Burla had tested positive in these outbreaks, following which residential blocks at both institutes were declared micro-containment zones.

Odisha reported 270 new cases Friday, including 57 in the 0-18 age group, taking the case tally to 10.49 lakh.

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