Chandigarh: About 100 students of Government Medical College in Patiala tested positive for the infection yesterday. The district administration thereafter, held an emergency meeting and asked all students staying at the hostel to vacate their rooms immediately.
Colleges are emerging as Covid hotspots in Punjab as the new fast-spreading Omicron strain pushes up daily case counts.
Earlier last week, around 93 students of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, also in Patiala, tested positive for COVID-19. This is a second educational institutional that has emerged as a hotspot in last few days.
Punjab's Medical Education and Research Minister Raj Kumar Verka, however, said the situation is under control.
"The situation is under control and the state government has directed the district administration and health department to put their best efforts. COVID tests of the students are being conducted by health teams. Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has called an emergency review meeting today to take stock of the situation in all districts," Verka said.
The state reported 419 COVID-19 cases yesterday. Notably, the number of samples tested dropped during this time, leading to a spike in positivity.
