E-Paper
Three Europeans test Covid positive in Vrindavan
All three had reached India on or around November 15 and were at the same Vrindavan ashram, which has now been declared a containment zone
Three Europeans have tested positive for Covid-19 in the pilgrim town Vrindavan since Friday, a health official said on Sunday.
A woman from Lithuania was the first to be found infected with Covid-19 there. Two Spain and Switzerland nationals have also tested positive now.
All three had reached India on or around November 15 and were at the same Vrindavan ashram, which has now been declared a containment zone. Their samples are being sent to Lucknow for genome sequencing, the official said, adding that samples of 44 others who were in contact with them at ashram are being tested.
“Earlier, a woman from the Republic of Lithuania, aged about 30 years, had tested positive for Covid-19. She arrived in India on November 15 for travel purposes and was staying at Girdhar Dham, Sheetal Chayya Mandir in Vrindavan. She tested positive on Friday. Samples of those coming in her contact, mainly foreigners, at the ashram were subjected to testing,” said Dr Bhoodev, the deputy chief medical officer (deputy CMO) at Mathura. Vrindavan is in Mathura district of western Uttar Pradesh.
“A woman from Spain, aged 47 years, and a man from Switzerland, aged 44 years, also tested positive at the same ashram. They were also in India since the last fortnight,” the deputy CMO said.
“Today, it was revealed that the man from Switzerland, who tested positive for Covid-19, has already moved away from the ashram and is being traced,” he stated.
“Samples of 44 others from the ashram are being taken and sent for testing as they are feared to have come in contact with those testing positive. Samples of these three foreigners are being sent to Lucknow for genome sequencing to ascertain the variant,” Dr Bhoodev further said.
Vrindavan, about 150 kilometres from Delhi, is among the favourite destinations for Krishna devotees from abroad as it is dotted with a series of Krishna temples and ashrams. The health department has made arrangements for sample testing of these devotees arriving from overseas.
On November 20, a footwear manufacturer from Agra tested positive for Covid after returning from Poland. But 50 others at his shoe factory tested negative. The samples of the footwear manufacturer have been sent to Lucknow for genome sequencing and the reports are awaited, said Agra chief medical officer Dr AK Srivastava.
The first Covid positive case in Uttar Pradesh had been reported from Agra on March 2, 2020. That patient had returned from Italy.
