The premises of the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras (IIT-M) has become the new Covid-19 cluster in the city after reporting dozens of cases in a short span of time. The management of a prestigious institute has written to the students and affirmed that all the affected people were sent to the government quarantine. The development has come when Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu have been enduring the third wave of the pandemic with soaring cases every day. 

According to reports, 58 people on the IIT campus have tested positive for the Covid-19 pandemic between January 5 and 9. Of these 58 people, 17 were students and IIT-M director Bhaskar Ramamurthi has confirmed the cases on the premises and said that the institution is implementing whatever Chennai Corporation and doctors decide. As the sequel of a cluster, the corporation has instructed the IIT management to install isolation wards for those affected with Covid. 

On Monday, the management has sent a letter to the students in which it has said that the affected people have been sent to government institutional quarantine/ home quarantine as advised by the government testing facility and their family members have been placed under home quarantine. The management has also advised the students who arrived at the campus after January 1 to get tested. They were told that they will be allowed inside the classrooms only after they quarantine themselves for a week or produce a Covid-19 negative certificate. 

In its letter, the management further said, "In view of the rapid increase of Omicron cases in India, the campus residents/dependents who have returned to campus from other states/abroad are advised to inform the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the institute hospital immediately and obtain information on possible home quarantine." The management has urged the staff and other workers to follow precautions and guidelines such as maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, and avoiding unnecessary travel. 

A corporation official has said that the positive cases that were reported in the institute were either have mild symptoms or no symptoms. The official added that the management was asked to provide isolation facilities to those who have tested positive. According to Tamil Nadu's health department, the state has reported 15,379 fresh Covid-19 cases, 3,043 discharges, and 20 deaths on Tuesday. Overall, the state has recorded 28,29,655 cases so far as of Tuesday of which 75,083 are active, 27,17,686 have been discharged, and 36,886 had succumbed to the viral infection.