Neighbour of infected truck driver tests positive in Nuh; number of cases up to 45

A neighbour of a 50-year-old truck driver, who was confirmed to have Covid-19 last week, also tested positive for the coronavirus disease on Sunday morning. On Saturday,

A neighbour of a 50-year-old truck driver, who was confirmed to have Covid-19 last week, also tested positive for the coronavirus disease on Sunday morning. On Saturday, five relatives of the driver had tested positive and four family members tested negative, said officials.

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After the seven people were tested from Khanpur Ghati village, the district administration sealed all the entry and exit gates and deployed more than 150 police personnel.

Virender Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO), Nuh, said the 52-year-old man who tested positive is a distant relative of the truck driver who is admitted to Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College, Nalharin Nuh. “On Sunday, medical teams, the police and the district administration visited Khanpur Ghati village and requested people not to hide their travel history and requested the sarpanch to ensure all people remain under quarantine for 14 days,” he said.

The samples of 139 people were collected on Sunday and sent for testing. They all are under quarantine and reports are awaited by Monday morning, said the CMO. A total of 45 cases have been recorded in the district so far—the highest among the 22 districts in the state.

The police said they have also identified as many as 400 people, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin in Delhi in March, of which the samples of 200 persons were taken for testing. The infected persons are admitted in Nalhar Medical College while the remaining are under quarantine at a polytechnic college.

According to the CMO, at least 1,368 people have been put under surveillance to date, of which 84 people have returned from foreign countries and are presently in Nuh. They were traced inside different mosques in Nuh villages. “We had sent the samples of 754 people, of which 45 have tested positive, 506 have tested negative and the results of 139 samples are awaited. Forty-five people are currently hospitalised,” said Yadav.

Pankaj (known by his first name), deputy commissioner of Nuh, said that the village—Khanpur Ghati – was sealed and barricaded and police are deployed around the village. “We are providing food, dry ration, dairy and fresh vegetables to them and have requested them not to step out of their houses,” said Pankaj.

The administration has converted seven buildings into quarantine centres in the district and has named them quarantine shelter homes. ITI College in Ferozepur Jhirka, Model School in Palla, a private hostel in Rehna and Polytechnic College in Malab as well as a school in Ferozepur Namak have been converted, said officials. One building is dedicated to only foreigners who are quarantined in Rehna village.

Four kitchen services— one government and three private— are operating in the district for supplying cooked meals thrice a day. These NGOs are supporting the administration and are delivering 12,000 cooked food packets daily, which include 2,700 from the government kitchen.