A school in Manchester is being targeted with surge testing following a "small and limited" Covid-19 outbreak.
A total of 17 students in a single teaching group at The Manchester College's Nicholls Campus in Ardwick have tested positive, with the cases being treated as possible variants of concern.
The results have been sent for genomic sequencing to confirm if they are the Indian variant but no link has been established to cases of the Indian variant in nearby hotspot Bolton, said Manchester City Council.
There is also no evidence to suggest the college's nine other campuses have been affected, the local authority added.
About 1,300 students and 80 staff are being encouraged to get a Covid-19 PCR test at two mobile testing units on site at the Nicholls Campus to detect any additional asymptomatic cases and prevent any further spread within the college and wider community.
David Regan, director of public health for Manchester, said: "With the reopening of the economy as well as the return of students to educational settings, we have anticipated a scenario like this.
"Testing units will be at The Manchester College for the next three days to ensure that any further spread of Covid is contained, and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the student population and wider community.
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"We know that incidents like this will happen from time to time as we learn to live with the virus but it is imperative that we remain vigilant and keep wearing our masks, maintain social distancing and wash our hands regularly."
Manchester College principal Lisa O'Loughlin said: "I would like to reassure our students that both Public Health England and Manchester City Council have praised both our swift response and the measures that we had in place on campus to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 that have helped to keep the number of confirmed cases limited to date.
"As such, our other nine campuses across Greater Manchester remain unaffected by this small and isolated incident and we are confident that the robust measures we have in place to protect our students and staff remain effective at limiting the spread of this virus on our campuses."
It comes as fears ramp up that the emergence of the Indian variant could affect plans to lift lockdown next month.
Boris Johnson today confirmed the government will know more "in a few days" about whether the roadmap out of lockdown can continue as planned despite increasing numbers of cases of the strain.
The Prime Minister said there was "nothing conclusive" to suggest the government should deviate from plans to relax more restrictions from June 21 following May 17's changes.
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination centre in London, the PM said: "We are looking at the epidemiology the whole time as it comes in and, at the moment, partly because we have built up such a wall of defences with the vaccination programme, I don't see anything conclusive at the moment to say that we need to deviate from the road map.
"But we've got to be cautious and we are keeping everything under very close observation."
Authorities are offering the vaccine to younger peoples in hopes of curbing the spread of the new variant among age groups yet to receive the jab as restrictions ease allowing hugging and more indoor social contact at pubs and restaurants.
Matt Hancock said earlier this week people over 35 would be invited to get their first jab this week.
