IIT Gandhinagar launched COVID-19 testing drive for the entire campus community

Gandhinagar: To complement the precautionary measures against the current global pandemic, the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) has organised COVID-19 testing drive for its entire campus community. As a part of this special drive, about 1800 community members, including faculty, staff, residents, outsourced support staff, and students who are currently on campus and those who come to work in the campus, would undergo Rapid Antigen Tests over the next few days.

The tests will be administered by the medical teams of the Government of Gujarat at two different locations on the campus throughout the days. In order to ensure safety and maintain social distancing at the testing venues, the Institute authorities have assigned token numbers to each family or individuals so that they can come to the testing venue turn by turn. Along with the leadership of the Institute, student volunteers have also come forward to help organise all necessary logistics for registration and communication so that the testing can be done with a high level of efficiency.

Sharing the motive behind the special testing drive Prof Sudhir K Jain, Director, IITGN said, “IIT Gandhinagar’s motto in this unprecedented time of crisis is – ‘Safety First’ for its entire community. We have taken numerous precautionary and preventive measures and continue to do so, in order to effectively deal with the evolving situation. It is a matter of pride for IITGN that all its students, faculty, staff and the entire campus community have shown a great sense of responsibility in the last seven months, through safety precautions and by supporting each other. We are also most thankful to the Government of Gujarat for deploying their teams to conduct this special testing drive for the IITGN community.”

This initiative is being led by the Crisis Management Group of IITGN, which continuously monitors the evolving situation arising out of the spread of Coronavirus in the country and forms strategies to respond effectively to ensure safety and wellbeing of the campus community.

Prof Harish P M, Dean of Students Affairs and Chair, Crisis Management Group, IITGN said, “Testing will help us complement the precautions already being taken in keeping our community safe. I am happy to see the enthusiastic participation of the community and the volunteers to organize and conduct this drive.”