GB Nagar: 2 test Covid positive during travel surveillance

The Gautam Budh Nagar health department found two persons -- one each from Odisha and Assam -- positive for Covid-19 on Sunday during the surveillance of travellers coming to the district from high-risk states

The Gautam Budh Nagar health department found two persons -- one each from Odisha and Assam -- positive for Covid-19 on Sunday during the surveillance of travellers coming to the district from high-risk states. They have been put in isolation and their contacts are being traced and tested, said officials on Monday.

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The officials said that 26 of the total 28 travellers traced by the department since August 1 have tested negative. While the focus has been on nine high-risk states identified by the Uttar Pradesh government, travellers from all the states are under scrutiny, according to the officials.

“Surveillance teams are at their toes to identify and trace travellers entering Gautam Budh Nagar...,” said Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma, chief medical officer (CMO), GB Nagar.

The surveillance drive started in the district on July 24, 2021, after the state government mandated travellers coming from other states having a weekly Covid-19 positivity rate of 3% or more to carry a negative RT-PCR report not older than four days, or a vaccination certificate indicating that they had been administered both the doses. The measures have been taken to prevent a possible third wave of Covid-19, the officials added.

The Directorate of Medical & Health Services, Uttar Pradesh, had issued the last advisory for travellers entering the state on July 19, 2021. According to the advisory, travellers from Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Sikkim have been asked to follow the rules.

The health department is relying on 600 surveillance teams comprising ASHA and Anganwadi workers. It has also asked various resident bodies in the district to inform about such passengers between August 1 and August 15. Health officials said that the apartment owners’ associations (AOAs) and residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) can share information on WhatsApp number (9971208271). An option for self-notification of travellers on Integrated Command Control Centre helpline (18004192211) of the district has also been added.

“A passenger from a high-risk state, who wants to notify himself to the district health department, can call on the ICCC helpline from Thursday,” said a health department official.

Meanwhile, GB Nagar on Monday reported two fresh cases of Covid-19 and five new discharges, according to the state’s health bulletin. The state has 570 active cases, with 13 in the district.