The Indian Institute of Technology - Madras (IIT-M) has on Thursday got to the spotlight with a bad and distressing piece of news as ten students in the institution had tested positive for the Covid-19 pandemic. The prestigious campus has shown a sign of cluster as the cases are feared to go up with more testing underway following the development. 

The IIT-M has reported the cases at a high time when the Covid infection has been resurging across the country with several states have been reinforcing the mask mandate and strict protocols to curb the spread. Though Tamil Nadu didn't record the infection on a scale of concern, the state government has been instructing the people to mandatorily wear masks in public places and adhere to the protocols to curb the spread. 

On Thursday, IIT Madras has brought under the scanner as the institute is imposing strict restrictions. Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan has said that out of the 18 people that were tested, a total of ten have tested positive and several students are being tested for infection. The health department has begun to trace the contacts of the positive cases. 

According to reports, three students had tested positive on Wednesday and seven others had confirmed to have contracted the disease on Thursday. In a press briefing, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian has stated that contact tracing has begun to detect cases at the campus. J Radhakrishnan said that people have a tendency to avoid wearing masks and defy the Covid appropriate behaviours. 

He said, "We have written to all district collectors to ensure Covid-appropriate behaviour is followed everywhere." It has been reported that besides ten students, two other persons had also tested positive that had taken the Covid tally to 12 within the campus. As the tests are underway, it has been expected that the tally would increase and the institution has shown signs of a Covid cluster. 

Radhakrishnan has visited the IIT-M campus on Thursday and he held a discussion with the management over the measures that need to be taken for the prevention and control of Covid-19 spreading in IIT Madras. The students inside the campus have been advised to wear masks at all times and maintain social distancing. Students have also been told to submit themselves for testing if they develop any positive symptoms. 

The cases in Tamil Nadu are expected to increase gradually and currently, the infection rate in the state stands at 0.87%. In the last 24 hours till 8 am on Thursday, India has reported 2,380 fresh Covid cases and the country has 13,433 active cases as per the data from the Union Health Ministry. Tamil Nadu has reported 31 cases, 23 discharges, and zero deaths on Wednesday and overall, the state had recorded 34,53,351 cases so far as of Wednesday of which 243 are active, 34,15,083 were discharged, and 38,025 had succumbed to the viral infection.