Bhubaneswar: The cluster at Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, (XIMB), where 45 students and staff have tested positive for COVID-19, is one of the biggest in Odisha so far since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year.
The premier B-school has been sanitised by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) after being sealed and 200 samples drawn from the students and staff of the Institute for the test.
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According to a report published in The New Indian Express, analysis of travel history shows most of the infected persons had returned from high-risk states, including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
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If this was not enough, the institute is accused of flouting COVID-19 protocol by organising its convocation, in which 150 people including students of colleges from several states participated on March 20, without the approval of the civic body.
The XIMB authorities, however, claimed that the convocation was organised in a separate space with adequate safety measures and had nothing to do with the spread of the virus on the campus.
The report further said that some persons had developed symptoms of COVID-19 prior to the event but the authorities paid no heed to it.
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After receiving the results of a few tests on the night of March 20, over 700 students were immediately asked to vacate the hostels. The authorities informed the BMC and police on Sunday, the report added.
The XIMB had started classes in February after the government allowed physical classes in higher education institutions in the state. The second-year students had returned to the campus in the second week of February and the first-year students, the following week.
