COVID-19: 33 trainee IAS officers found infected in Mussoorie's Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy

As many as 33 trainee IAS officers in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie have tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday.

Following this, the academy was sealed for two days. Sanjeev Chopra, director of LBSNAA, said, "A total of 33 OTs (Officer Trainees) tested Covid-19 positive on Friday. All of them were shifted to the Covid-19 care centre within the campus. Testing of the remaining OTs is being conducted."

There are a total of 428 officers training under the 95th foundation course on the campus that started on October 13.

The trainees include those who have joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Forest Service (IFS), among other central services to take a 15-week foundation course before joining their respective departments across the country.

The trainees found infected have been quarantined and 150 people have been examined while the remaining staff is also being investigated.

"...Food and other necessities are being delivered to the OTs in their hostels by staff who have been equipped adequately in protective gear," tweeted LBSNAA from its official Twitter account.

Officials of the academy added that from now on, the classes in the institution will be conducted in online mode till November. The academy had announced special measures to deal with Covid-19 including keeping medical kits, masks, and sanitizers in each room, allocation of time slots and venues for dining, separate time slot allotment for use of the library among many other measures to tackle Covid-19 spread.