Pune’s Covid-19 positive cases up to 16; 5 cases of local transmission

On Sunday, one resident of Pimpri-Chinchwad tested positive for Covid-19 (coronavirus). The patient, according to the civic administration, returned from Japan and underwent tests on Saturday

On Sunday, one resident of Pimpri-Chinchwad tested positive for Covid-19 (coronavirus), taking the Pune district total, inclusive of areas under the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporation (PCMC), to 16, district collector Naval Kishore Ram said.

Commuters travelling by state transport buses were seen sporting masks at Swarget ST stand on Sunday. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)

The patient, according to the civic administration, returned from Japan and underwent tests on Saturday, after which the report from the National Institute of Virology (NIV) came back positive.

The 37-year-old male is now reported to be stable, the collector said on Sunday.

Of the five people that tested positive for the virus in Pimpri-Chinchwad late on Saturday, four came in contact with a member of the group of 40 who returned from Dubai on March 1.

Pune’s “zero patients”, a couple, were part of that group.

“These cases indicate local transmission,” said Pune’s divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar on Sunday.

The fifth positive case in PCMC on Saturday is a 21-year-old man who has a recent travel history that included Thailand.

The driver of the taxi that brought in the couple returning from Dubai, from the Mumbai airport to Pune, is the only other case of local transmission, reported last week.

“The latest situation is definitely a cause of concern for us. With more cases of local transmission, we are now tracking the first contacts of 93 people and will reach out to them for samples,” Mhaisekar said.

Naval Kishore Ram, Pune’s district collector, said, “Family members of the Dubai-returned group are infected and so this is the initial stage of local transmission. The person who returned from Thailand was part of a 93-member group, so we are tracking all those people.”

Schools, colleges, public parks, cinema theatres, and gymnasiums in Pune have been shut down and malls have been served notices to remain closed till March 31.

The district collector stated that only those stores selling medicines, food or vegetables inside the malls will be allowed to function.

Local transmission

-Five cases of local transmission in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad

-Four of the five are first-contact cases with members of the group of 40 who came back from Dubai on March 1; all four in PCMC

-Fifth case is driver who drove Pune’s “zero patients”, couple who returned from Dubai, from Mumbai airport to Pune