Karnataka government amps up effort to trace 570 ‘missing’ UK returnees

Of the 1,614 passengers who came to Bengaluru, 26 had tested positive for Covid-19 and of them, three have tested positive for the new UK strain of the virus.

Of the 2,406 people who came to Karnataka between December 1 - December 21, the state government has been struggling to locate nearly 570 of them who have gone ‘missing.’ Karnataka Medical Education minister Dr K Sudhakar, while speaking to media, said that they have sought the assistance of the state home ministry and police officials to trace these 570 people who have switched off their phones and remain untraceable. Of the 1,614 passengers who came to Bengaluru, 26 had tested positive for Covid-19 and of them, three have tested positive for the new UK strain of the virus, the minister said.

File photo: Citizens who were quarantined at a hospital for a mandatory period of 14 days following their arrival from abroad prepare to leave after they were tested negative against for Covid-19 in Bengaluru. (PTI)

The three who have tested positive for the new strain includes a 34-year-old woman and her six-year-old daughter. The identity of the other person who has tested positive for the new strain has not been revealed. Of the remaining, 1,385 people have tested negative while reports of 329 people are still awaited.

Sudhakar, speaking to media said, “We have sought the help of the police and the home department in tracing the remaining who are the missing passengers. We will take legal recourse in case they do not undertake the RT-PCR test immediately at a nearby hospital.”

The minister met with police officials and said that they had provided the phone, address and other details available with the ministry to law enforcement. “I have been promised that within 48 hours, all of them will be traced.” A senior police official, who did not want to be named as he is not authorised to speak to media, said, “It is in the interest of those who have flown in to get tested. Otherwise, while it is a challenging task, we will have to detain them and we might take further legal action.”

Meanwhile, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) officials sealed the apartment complex where the mother-daughter duo who have tested positive for the new strain was residing in Vasnathpura. After the 12 families there refused to move to a quarantine centre, the BBMP chose to seal the entire apartment complex itself. All the samples of 37 people residing there have been sent for testing.

Also unlike the 14 day quarantine period, which included seven days at the hospital and seven days at home, those having a new strain will be isolated for a period of 28 days at a hospital or quarantine centre where they will be monitored and treated, the minister added. Fellow passengers of those carrying the new strain have been identified and are being tested, Sudhakar added.

Of the 570 missing passengers, 204 have given addresses in Bengaluru.