Nodal officer of Punjab’s Moga district tests positive for Covid-19

Civil surgeon says three health department officials, including district epidemiologist, quarantined as they worked with nodal officer

Moga: Moga’s nodal officer for coronavirus disease, Dr Naresh Amla, 27, tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.

Representative Image/HT

Civil surgeon Dr Amarpreet Kaur Bajwa said three other health department officials on Covid-19 duty with Dr Amla, including district epidemiologist Dr Manish Arora, have been quarantined as a precautionary measure.

“We have initiated contact tracing and advised all health officials to take precautions till the reports of the contacts are received,” she said.

“Apart from the nodal officer, five more persons, including a constable posted at the NRI police station in Moga, tested positive. Dr Amla and other positive patients have been admitted to the isolation ward at the civil hospital, Baghapurana. Now there are 16 positive cases in the district,” she said.

Dr Amla was looking into fieldwork to collect data on diseases, conduct surveys and maintain surveillance. He had been directing and coordinating with doctors in the district for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

“We have collected the samples of all health department officials who came in contact with the nodal officer and have quarantined his close contacts. This will affect work of the district health department as most of the health officials on Covid-19 surveillance duty are exposed to the virus,” a health official said, requesting anonymity.