Chhattisgarh's law university becomes first to shut amid COVID-19 scare

Hidayatullah National Law University in Raipur has suspended its classes till March 18 as a precautionary measure after a few of its students were found suffering from cough, cold and fever.

The HNLU is the first university in the country to have suspended the classrooms and opted for the closure of the campus over coronavirus apprehension.

All the students of the residential university have been also directed to vacate the hostels by 6 pm on Thursday.

An official order issued by university registrar (in-charge) Dr Ayan Hazra on Wednesday read, “Taking preventive measures regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the University is suspending its classes for students till 18/03/2020. All the students of the university are required to vacate the campus by 6 pm on Thursday. For leaving the campus the university will provide buses.”

The university has around 700 students from different states, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Many of these students had gone to their native places for Holi festival, university sources said. Some of them, who returned on Wednesday, were found suffering from cough, cold and fever. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, classes were suspended for six days, a university official said.

The university management is fully taking care of its students, he added.

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Meanwhile, after getting information a team of the state health department reached the university campus to take stock of the situation.

Raipur Collector S Bharathi Dasan said, “Students who have symptoms of cough and cold are being examined by the doctors and if required their samples will be sent for testing to AIIMS here.”

The samples of persons suspected to have coronavirus infection are being tested at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur.

No confirmed novel coronavirus case has been reported so far in Chhattisgarh, where samples of 44 persons screened for possible exposure to the virus tested negative till Wednesday, health officials said.