Haryana truck driver, who travelled to Gujarat, tests positive for Covid-19; cops comb Nuh

A 50-year-old truck driver of Khanpur Ghati in Nuh, who had travelled to Gujarat, tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, said officials.

A 50-year-old truck driver of Khanpur Ghati in Nuh, who had travelled to Gujarat, tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday, said officials.

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Virender Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO), Nuh, said that his family, of five, has been placed in quarantine and their samples were taken. “We are ensuring that all the people who came in close contact with positive cases are being quarantined in hospitals. There are two hospitals to which these patients are being admitted,” he said.

On Friday, three others, of Kerala who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin last month, had tested positive in Nuh, said officials.

The superintendent of police, Nuh, Narender Bijarniya, on Saturday, said they have deployed 900 personnel across the district along with medical teams to keep a watch on those who had come in contact with the patients. “We have identified 270 people, so far, who had attended the Jamaat and 430 others who came in close contact with those who had returned from there. We have admitted more than 270 people to Government Polytechnic college in Malab and Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College, Nalhar, Nuh,” he said.

The police sealed the district border as well, to check the spread of disease from outside. Bijarniya said the police have asked all village heads and ward officers to ensure that people experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 are taken to the hospital and that the police are informed.

The three who were tested positive on Friday had come to Palwal on March 19, and stayed in Nizamuddin for 10 days, before visiting Nuh on March 30, the police said.

Bijrania said they had traced them through their travel history, mobile location, human surveillance and informers. “We have collected samples of more than 70 people, so far, who were close to the people infected. We are tracking all the possible movements and contacts so that the situation can be monitored and controlled,” said Bijrania.

Special police teams have been formed for visiting villages in Nuh to check the ground situation and ensure no person with these symptoms go unreported. “We are sending the police personnel with the medical staff and district administration teams door-to-door, to check the details of each occupant, ascertain their travel history and track their current location. We are undertaking intense patrolling in the area and if anyone found is found hiding intentionally, strict action will be taken against them and those sheltering them,” said Bijrania.

Police teams deployed near the hospitals and dealing with the quarantine patients are given full-body protective suits. All the staff members have been asked to ensure sanitisation four times a day, said police.