12 more IIT Madras students test Covid positive, TN makes masks mandatory

Tamil Nadu has been seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases, and 12 cases were reported in IIT Madras on Thursday alone. Principal Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan announced the state is making masks mandatory in public places, and violators will be charged a fine of Rs 500. The decision was taken considering the laxity shown by people regarding Covid-19 protocols.

Mr Radhakrishnana told the media that the officials of local administration, health, and police departments have been instructed to collect fines from people who are seen without masks in public places. He noted that a lot of people travel by bus or be in a public place with no mask.

Daily additions and active cases of Covid-19 have been on the rise in Tamil Nadu. 39 new infections were reported yesterday. The rule of collecting fines for not wearing masks had been relaxed earlier when cases were declining. The Principal Health Secretary has now requested everyone to follow the prevention guidelines introduced by the government.

Regarding the situation in IIT Madras, he said that 18 people have tested positive today from 700-odd samples collected. "All of them are vaccinated and are doing well." He said that the health protocols must be strictly followed in the campus.

The health department official said that people who tested positive have mild symptoms like sore throat and fever. "All of them are under isolation. They do not require hospitalisation, but it has been decided to keep King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research (in the city) as a reserve hospital." 1,16,451 beds were allotted to treat Covid-19 patients at government hospitals.

He noted that the low number of patients is good news, but people not following Covid-19 appropriate behaviour may lead to resurgence of the virus.