21 test Covid positive in CPWD’s national academy in Ghaziabad

The infected people are all assistant executive engineers (AEE) with the CPWD. They had arrived in November for a year-long training course.

Confirming the infection, an official CPWD spokesperson from New Delhi said: “The hostel area is sealed, and entry to the campus is restricted. The residential quarters, about 25, are located at some distance from the hostel. Testing of all occupants is being done.” (REUTERS)

Twenty-one trainees at the central public works department’s (CPWD’s) national academy at Kamala Nehru Nagar in Ghaziabad tested positive for Covid-19 over the past three days, officials of the district’s health department said on Thursday.

“Most of them were symptomatic with fever and respiratory infection, among others. One was shifted to our Covid hospital for better observation and one, who is a resident in the campus’ residential block, was allowed home isolation . The rest have been quarantined in the hostel block,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer. Ghaziabad has only one Covid-19 hospital -- Santosh Medical College in Sector 12.

There are 44 others in the batch who tested negative, but were put in quarantine in the hostel block. Gupta said they will be tested again next week.

The infected people are all assistant executive engineers (AEE) with the CPWD. They had arrived in November for a year-long training course.

“The academy is now a containment zone for 14 days. The patients told us that they frequented three locations outside the academy, two departmental stores in Shastri Nagar and a fruit vendor outside the academy, and we suspect that they may have contracted the infection from there,” said Dr Gupta. He said they had traced the contacts of the patients and they had tested negative.

“We are getting people at all three locations tested and all the relevant Covid protocols have been put in place ever since the cases have emerged. There is no need to panic,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, Ghaziabad district magistrate.

The testing was ordered following reports of fever among the trainees.

Confirming the infection, an official CPWD spokesperson from New Delhi said: “The hostel area is sealed, and entry to the campus is restricted. The residential quarters, about 25, are located at some distance from the hostel. Testing of all occupants is being done.”

The officials of the academy said that they are in touch with the health department and all required Covid protocols were put in place.