Most of the people were infected due to the recent freshers' party organised inside the campus. He further added that they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said today that SDM College of Medical Sciences in Karnataka's Dharwad has become a COVID hotspot after 281 people on campus tested positive this week. The medical college in Karnataka's Dharwad is a tertiary care center that is considered as the medical hub.
Owing to the rise in COVID-19 positive cases, fresh admissions to the hospitals have been suspended for now. Along with this, the entry and exit to the hospital have also been blocked and only those who will be discharged will test negative. As per the officials, most of the people were infected due to the recent freshers' party organised inside the campus. He further added that they were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Chairman of Manipal Hospital and member of Covid task force team in Karnataka Dr Sudarshan Ballal said the Covid cluster is a cause of concern.
"There was a large cluster that has turned to be positive and all of them were at an event. This means the variant of this virus is infectious. The second concern, all the students were fully vaccinated which means there is an immune escape phenomenon," he said. However, he said, the disease is not severe. Genomic sequencing will help decide on the new kind of variant, Dr. Ballal said.
"113 positive samples have been sent to Strand Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore. Genome Sequencing is expected to be completed by December 1," state health commissioner D Randeep said.
On Friday, the Dharwad district administration had closed schools and colleges in a 500-meter radius of SDM college. Surrounding areas were sanitised. As per a report by The Times of India, eight ambulances are being kept ready and entry of visitors to the college has been restricted.
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