Mangaluru : As per the reports from health department 20 more nursing colleges students testing positive for the virus. With this, the total number of virus infections reported in two college hostels touched 77 on Saturday.

The health department served notices to two nursing colleges in the city for not following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of Covid-19 while allowing students in hostels. The colleges had allowed nearly 900 students, including more than 600 from Kerala, into their hostels without following SOPs.

While 15 students from the college hostels had tested positive for Covid-19 a week ago, 20 more cases were reported on Saturday taking the total cases to 77.

Health department officials said while they have collected samples of 743 students so far, 77 have been tested positive for the virus and reports of many are yet to be arrived. All students, who have been tested positive for the virus, are isolated on the top floor of the hostels, officials said.

The total number of Covid-19 cases reached 32,948 in the district with 37 more fresh positive cases on Saturday. The district has not reported covid fatalities since December 17. At present, the district has 298 active cases.