The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata in Kalyani has decided to disallow dining en masse and serve packed food from Friday morning after 20-odd students tested Covid positive, said an official of the institute.
He said this was done as part of the containment measure at an institute where all research activities in December 2020 had to be suspended for 21 days because of a rise in cases.
The infected students are quarantined in the visitors hostel and Nivedita Hall and are being treated.
Students have been asked to access the laboratories in smaller numbers over multiple shifts to avoid crowding.
“Suspending research activities in an institute like ours affects the students dearly. So, we are taking steps to contain the spread,” said an official.
After the research work was resumed post the outbreak in December 2020, three persons used to be allowed to work at a time in a 750 square feet research lab and two persons were allowed to work in a smaller one.
Security personnel were asked to see that the rule is being followed. “Similar restrictions are likely to be followed now,” said an IISER official.
The dean of students, Balaram Mukhopadhyay, said they had not taken any decision on sending the students back home.
Institutes like IIEST, Shibpur, ISI, Calcutta, have asked students to go back home following a spike in cases on their campuses.
The institute in Kalyani was working on a plan to give students at the undergraduate level the option of coming to the campus from February.
“This was decided at the IISER senate as we had plans to start offline classes gradually,” an official said.
Now the plan has been shelved following a spike in cases and the state government’s order to suspend offline classes.
A teacher said the undergraduate students also look forward to coming to the institute as they can access the labs while attending theory classes.
“Now the practical classes will too be held over the digital platforms,” he said.
