Student In Kerala Entrance Exam Confirmed Positive, Sat With Dozens In The Same Test Room

Hanima Anand |Jul 22, 2020

Unfortunately, this student didn’t show symptoms and was let sitting in the general exam hall instead of being separated. Two more cases were also confirmed in the Kerala entrance exam.

It’s almost one week since students finished their KEAM exams to universities and colleges. However, yesterday, two students from Kerala entrance exam were confirmed positive to coronavirus. One more parent also had the same result after that.

Keam Exam 2020 Coronavirus 1 — KEAM examinees were checked on body temperature but some didn't show symptoms yet.

However, what made the situation worse was that one student didn’t show symptoms on the test date. This examinee was let sitting in the general hall with dozens of other students during the test. The other was arranged to sit in a separate room after reporting some mild symptoms.

According to reports, the first infected student was 19 years old, coming from Pozhiyoor. This exam-taker showed up for the KEAM exam at the Thycaud Govt Teachers Training College in Thiruvananthapuram on July 16, 2020. Any student who attended the exam at the same location should go for a coronavirus test immediately.

Keam Exam 2020 Coronavirus 2 — Many have criticized the Kerala officials for the hasty organization of KEAM exam.

The second student, sitting the exam at the Govt Girls Higher Secondary School in Karamana, is 18 years old and resides in Peroorkada. This examinee, however, was tested in a separate room due to COVID-19 symptoms. Two volunteers and one invigilator were responsible for supervising this student. So, if anyone took the exam at the Govt Girls Higher Secondary School, you should also check for coronavirus as the virus can be easily transmitted through the air.

Another confirmed case is at Cotton Hill school. This is a 47-year-old father from Manacaud who took his son to the exam location. He had stayed at Cotton Hill school during the exam time and only left here when his son finished the test. Therefore, people should register a coronavirus test if they were present at the same exam center on that day.

Keam Exam 2020 Coronavirus 3 — Though test rooms have been sanitized, the virus could still be transmitted through the air.

In fact, even before the exam took place, many people have criticized the decision of Kerala authorities. Given the rising statistics of coronavirus in India, holding the exam at this time is very risky.

Should these three confirmed cases be the so-called super-spreaders, Kerala would have to pay costly human and cash prices for their hasty decision.