Punjab students, teachers who attended smartphone distribution in Bathinda, Mansa on August 12 at risk of Covid infection
State revenue minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia and Bathinda SSP Bhupinder Jit Virk, who tested positive later, attended the functions during the virus window period
Bathinda: Even as the health department is tracing, testing and quarantining contacts of a Punjab minister, an MLA and a senior police official, who were found positive for Covid-19, since the Independence Day function, none of the students, teachers and others present at the August 12 phone distribution events the three attended at Bathinda and Mansa have been asked to go for testing.
Fifty-nine Class 12 students of government schools along with teachers were invited to the smartphone distribution functions attended by state revenue minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Mansa MLA Nazar Singh Manshahia and the Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Bhupinder Jit Virk.
While Kangar, accompanied by Manshahia, distributed handsets to 20 students in Mansa, SSP Bhupinder Jit Singh Virk was present at the Bathinda event where 39 students from three government schools were given phones by state finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.
Kangar was found infected three days after the distribution function and Manshahia tested positive after his sample was taken on Monday. The SSP’s report came on August 17.
Health officials said as per protocol, all those who were present at the venues should have been tested for coronavirus.
“A person is considered to be in high-risk category if they get exposed to an environment where an infected person spends over half an hour. It cannot be ruled out that the minister and two others may have contracted the infection from virus carrier(s) at the function,” said a health official involved in Covid-19 management.
Bathinda district education officer (DEO secondary) Iqbal Singh said no one from the students or the education staff was advised to give a sample for Covid test. Mansa DEO Surjit Sidhu said he and few others have been directed to undergo test on Thursday as they were present at the Independence Day function after which Kangar and Mansa MLA tested positive.
“The students belong to underprivileged families and they may not be aware of the protocol of quarantine and testing. It has been a week but the administration did not contact any one of us,” said a teacher.
Bathinda civil surgeon Amrik Singh Sandhu said the August 12 event was not brought to the notice of the health department.
“Testing of those present at the function is important to check their risk status. We still have time and we will try to contact students and all others present at the function,” he said.
Mansa officiating chief medical officer Dr GB Singh said they will start the exercise to trace students and others present at the phone distribution function soon.