Nearly the entire top brass of Madhya Pradesh’s health department is under quarantine after 11 of department, including two Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and the director of health services, have tested positive for Covid-19 since Saturday.
Eight of them have tested positive on Sunday.
The number of officials who tested positive on Sunday, including an additional director, a joint director and four deputy directors, has thrown the health department into a tizzy and has driven several other officers from health and other departments into self-quarantine.
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All the officers were a part of meetings held in the state secretariat and health directorate to discuss plans to combat the disease and monitor implementation of the measures mandated by the government across the state.
The Char Imli locality, where most of these bureaucrats reside, has been gripped with fear as an IAS officer, who has tested positive, insists on being treated at home so that she can continue her work with the department. The Bhopal district administration tried to convince her into being hospitalised, but she refused. However, the administration pasted a sticker outside her bungalow on Sunday advising people not to visit her.
An IAS officer said, “She should understand the gravity of the problem and cooperate with the administration. A hospital-like facility can’t be created at home, and it is beneficial for her and all other officers in the colony that she be treated at a proper health facility.”
{{/usCountry}}An IAS officer said, “She should understand the gravity of the problem and cooperate with the administration. A hospital-like facility can’t be created at home, and it is beneficial for her and all other officers in the colony that she be treated at a proper health facility.”
{{/usCountry}}The officer did not respond to phone calls. However, the officer in a video message on Sunday evening said, “I was working with health department personnel. It is possible that I got infected from any of them. But I don’t have any symptom of Covid-19 and I am completely healthy. As per doctors’ advice, I am working from my room. I am having no problem.”
A government officer, who didn’t want to be named said, “At least 50 officers including several IAS officers from various departments have chosen to self-quarantine and they are working from home.”
An officer of the health department, on the condition of anonymity, said, “I am having no symptom unlike a few of my colleagues but our samples have been sent for the test. We are waiting for the reports.”
Chief medical and health officer (CMHO), Bhopal Sudhir Kumar Deharia said, “Out of 97 samples sent for test 23 have been found positive for Covid-19. Most of these people are either related to health department or from Jamaatis who came from outside. However, there is no situation of community transmission in Bhopal.
Hence, Bhopal people need not to be worried.”
In addition to them, 13 Jamaatis, who attended different Nizamuddin religious congregation, also tested Covid-19 positive, taking the total number of corona virus positive cases in Bhopal to 40. Madhya Pradesh has 193 cases with majority of them from the business city of Indore. Test reports of several other Jamaatis is awaited, official said. Four Jamaatis had tested Covid-19 positive in Bhopal on Saturday.
As per the health department’s state bulletin the number of Covid-19 patients rose to 193 on Sunday, half of which were in the business city of Indore.