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Uttarakhand CM underlines 3 super spreaders’ role in triggering Covid-19 spike
While the number of positive cases in Uttarakhand is relatively low, the states containment challenges are compounded by its hilly topography.
Uttarakhand chief minister on Saturday justified the weekend lockdown clamped in four districts of the state to cut the chain of Coved-19 transmissions while highlighting the threat posed by super spreaders, which if not detected on time, can lead to an undetected spiral in the number of infections.
Trivendra Singh Rawat said not one but three super spreaders were eventually found in US Nagar district, which had emerged as the new hotbed of Coronavirus disease in the state. He said one single super spreader, a domestic worker, was responsible for infecting at least 49 people.
“There were 3 super spreaders in Udham Singh Nagar which caused a rise in Covid 19 cases there. Problem was that there was no information about domestic workers and a domestic worker infected 49 people,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
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Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar are the four districts that will observe a hard lockdown on the weekends to curb the rise in the number of cases.
Rawat said that the lockdown implemented in US Nagar has been successful.
The state government has not only announced the lockdown in the four districts but has also sealed Haridwar’s border with Uttar Pradesh till July 20 in view of rising coronavirus cases.
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The government has however exempted all essential services apart from industrial units, agricultural and construction activities, liquor shops and hotels. It has also allowed movement of people and vehicles associated with these activities.
In order to regulate the flow of tourists into the state, all visitors from other states are now required to register on the Smart City web portal prior to their travel. Their registration documents will be verified at border check posts.
Uttarakhand currently has 4,102 Covid-19 cases. The government has barred any devotee from outside the state from taking a dip in the holy Ganges. A violation of this order will result in mandatory 14-day quarantine.
