E-Paper
Haryana govt rules out community spread; contact history of only three patients untraced
State director general, health services, Dr SB Kamboj says a case qualifies to be one of community spread when the authorities fail to get absolutely no traces of the patient’s contact history. In the cases of Ambala, Sirsa and Karnal, the possible route of the contact is known
CHANDIGARH: Haryana’s health authorities have ruled out the community spread of the coronavirus disease in the state so far, though they admit they are yet to ascertain the contact history in three (2%) of the 162 positive cases in the state.
For instance, a 38-year-old woman, who tested positive for Covid-19 on March 30, did not have any travel history. Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Covid-19 nodal officer Dr Dhruva Chaudhary says that the woman’s contact history is yet to be traced. Her two children had also caught the infection from her.
The woman runs a paying guest (PG) facility in Sirsa, while her husband owns a similar business in Chandigarh and visited Rajasthan, Punjab and Union territory recently. Doctors suspect the woman’s husband contracted the infection and passed it on to his wife. He is healthy due to better immunity.
FAMILY FUNCTION ATTENDED BY NRIs
In Ambala, the health department is yet to ascertain how a 67-year-old heart patient, who died at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on April 1, caught the infection. His 65-year-old woman relative has also tested positive.
Ambala chief medical officer Dr Kuldeep Singh says a family function was held on March 20 at their residence which was attended by non-resident Indians (NRIs). Though the woman’s daughter-in-law, who works at a bank in Patiala and deals with NRI accounts, tested negative, the woman could have got infected due to low immunity.
SOURCE OF INFECTION A MYSTERY
The source of infection of the 58-year-old first Covid-19 patient of Karnal district, who had died at PGI, Chandigarh, is yet to be ascertained. On April 2, he tested positive for Covid-19 and died two days later. He, however, left his son, a doctor and a staff nurse of Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College and Hospital infected.
Ruling out chances of community spread in Haryana, the director general, health services, Dr SB Kamboj said the Karnal village resident was a chronic diabetic and was frequenting hospitals in Gurugram and Panipat before getting admitted to the Karnal hospital.
“A case qualifies to be a case of community spread when we fail to get absolutely no traces of the contact history. In all these cases of Ambala, Sirsa and Karnal, we at least know the possible route of the contact,” he added.
