Covid-19: 35 booked in UP for hiding travel history, defying quarantine

Of the 35, a 73-year-old woman and her son have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and are undergoing treatment at the at district hospital in Pilibhit.

As many as 35 people, from a group of 37 that returned from Saudi Arabia, have been booked for hiding their travel history and defying quarantine.

Of the 35, a 73-year-old woman and her son have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and are undergoing treatment at the at district hospital in Pilibhit.

The group, from Amaria town of Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, had gone to perform ‘umrah’ (religious pilgrimage) in Mecca in Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter said.

The members of the group returned to their villages via Mumbai on March 19. “The group avoided air route and chose to travel by train from Mumbai to Lucknow,” said an official. All 37 members of the group had been stamped ‘home quarantine’.

Click here for the complete coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic

Members of the group, however, allegedly removed the ‘home quarantine’ stamp, officials said.

This came to light when the woman’s health deteriorated and she tested positive for Covid-19 on March 23.

Her 33-year-old son, who had reportedly stayed with her in the isolation ward even though he did not show any preliminary symptoms, also tested positive on March 25.

Other pilgrims from the group have now been kept under quarantine for at least 28 days.