The University has alleged that following social media claims and media reports that a sub cluster of COVID-19 was forming within the University after students continued to remain in hostels and were attending classes, administrative staff of the university had received over 100 'threatening, abusive, filthy telephone
calls', and false reporting of the ground situation to political authorities, University Grants Commission, Ministry of Health, Police, Army and Covid 19 management center. 

 

In a detailed statement released by the Vice-Chancellor of the Ruhuna University, Professor Sujeewa Amarasena, he said that while some students had tested positive for COVID-19, these were among those who had arrived back to the University after returning home and being under a bio bubble following the New Year last month.

"The University of Ruhuna has 10 faculties which were functioning in different capacities prior to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Two faculties namely Medicine and Allied Health Sciences were functioning at nearly full capacities. All the other Faculties were functioning at 50% capacity or less prior to the New Year. There was a plan to expand the capacity of functioning for in house Teaching Learning activities soon after the New Year. UOR informed all the students to be in a self-imposed travel restriction plan for the new year, adhering to health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and to be within a bio bubble. With that arrangement, some additional batches were taken in for in house teaching on 17/18th of April after the New Year," the Vice Chancellor explained.

He said some of the other faculties brought in 50% of student populations on April 19, and only on this day did he become aware about the potential new wave. By this time the students who were asked to stay at home for two weeks through the Learning Management Systems prior to the new year had arrived.

"We do believe that the large majority of students stayed with university directed, self-imposed travel restrictions to commence their University education despite Covid 19. It must be obvious for all people of this country that we cannot turn them back immediately and send them home with the new development without assessing the risk of Covid 19 spreading into the community from this cohort of undergraduates," the Vice-Chancellor said.

 

Soon after, the University said it took necessary measures to minimize the impact of the new wave immediately.

 

The learning was converted to online mode and limited in-house teaching and learning activities were conducted while adhering to health guidelines. No more new batches were taken in as planned. The potential risks were identified by the staff and precautions were taken.

The University then made arrangements to conduct screening or random PCR/RAT tests in the different faculties after 7 days of arrival while the same was done on students who showed any symptom related to the Covid 19 at any time. On April 26, two students with Covid 19 were identified among 550 students who arrived in the Faculty Of Engineering and sent to hospital, while 45 potential contacts were quarantined inside the Faculty of Engineering hostels while others were isolated inside hostels with severe travel restrictions to date.

The University said the PCR tests of the cohort of contacts remain negative to date and the Faculty Of Medicine running at 100 percent capacity, also had 1 out of 1120 with a positive PCR. The student was sent to the hospital, 40 contacts were quarantined while others in the Faculty Of Management isolated with travel restrictions.

Further, the University explained that the students who arrived on April 19 were not sent back home after the third wave of the virus erupted. 

 

"They may have become infected before, during or after the arrival in the University Of Ruhuna. Sending them back to the community will result in a grave danger of COVID-19 spreading in the community in large numbers," the Vice Chancellor said.

"Sending them back would have therefore needed quarantine at home for more than 3000 students and their families and this number is beyond the supervisory capacity of PHIs in this country. Without the supervision of PHIs and security forces, the people’s behavior is not good as seen in the past few weeks. Therefore, the University of Ruhuna sought advice of the health authorities and decided to quarantine or isolate them with the help, advise and support of the Health Ministry and other health authorities without letting the disease spread in the community or homes of students with elderly parents," the Vice Chancellor said.

 

The University said currently it has a quarantine center for high risk exposures, intermediate care center to isolate students with fever before testing with RAT or PCR and isolated hostels where the students are not free to move around at will except under supervision. Large majority of students understand the need for such restrictions after education several times by medical teams, psychologists and student counselors.

 

Meanwhile the University said there was one student who ran away from a hostel to her home and came back in a week after getting a PCR without even informing the sub warden. 

 

The University has admitted there was a security lapse and subsequently her PCR report was found to be positive. 

 

"These are the situations we have to face in life with young, intelligent but irresponsible people. We had to quarantine few students due to the behavior of this one student," the Vice Chancellor said.

 

The Ruhuna University has also decided to take legal action against the IUSF, self- appointed President of the Maha Shishya Sangamaya, political elements who tarnish the image of the University and their followers. The Ruhuna University has taken a decision to report these to police for legal action unless this campaign stops immediately, as they said overburdening the police and security forces with these issues was not the right step during a serious crisis the country was facing at the moment. (JAMILA HUSAIN)