E-Paper
Day after dropping them home, Ludhiana quarantines pilgrims, students
Step taken after 12 persons from the state who recently returned from Nanded, a popular Sikh shrine in Maharashtra, tested positive for Covid-19
After 12 persons from the state who recently returned from Nanded, a popular Sikh shrine in Maharashtra, tested positive for Covid-19, the Ludhiana health department swung into action and sent all 56 pilgrims from the district and 25 students who had returned from Kota, Rajasthan, to a quarantine facility at Mother and Child Hospital on Chandigarh road.
Confirming the development, the hospital’s senior medical officer Dr Amita Jain said that samples of all persons who recently entered the state, are being collected and sent for testing. She said they have also been placed under quarantine and decision on the further course of action will be taken after their reports come.
The administration, which had earlier escorted the pilgrims and students to their homes in taxis and PCR vehicles, turned up at the homes on Tuesday and took them back to the health facility.
Sources said the health department faced mild resistance as some of the pilgrims and students who had barely spent a day at home after remaining stranded for over a month were reluctant to visit the hospital.
Deputy commissioner Pradeep Agrawal informed that as per the latest protocol of the health department, testing of all persons who returned from Nanded (Maharashtra) and Kota (Rajasthan) was being done and they have been kept in quarantine.
Dr Rajesh Bagga said the decision has been taken to identify the asymptotic patients and curtail the further spread of virus.
MAJOR REPRIEVE FOR HEALTH DEPARTMENT
In a major reprieve for the health department, 10 primary contacts of the food supply inspector, who is the husband of the Covid positive block development and panchayat Officer (BDPO), tested negative for the virus. Besides, the department received 106 samples and all were found to be negative, stated civil surgeon Dr Bagga.
On the other hand, DC Pradeep Agrawal stated that as many as 1,991 samples have been taken in the district so far, out of which reports of 1,670 have been received, and 1,649 samples have been found negative.
He informed that 21 samples were found to be positive, that includes 18 from Ludhiana and three from other districts.
He informed that five patients have lost their lives, while seven patients have been fully cured after treatment and discharged from hospital.
He stated that so far nine (8 from Ludhiana and one from another district) active patients are left in the district. He informed that no positive case have been reported from the district in the last 24 hours.
He assured that the health of active patients in the district is improving and second sample of three such patients have been sent, and if that the report is negative, another test would be done after 24 hours (of the second test) and if that report is also negative, then the patients would be discharged from the hospital. He informed that the second sample of the patients is taken after 14 days (when they test positive).
