Covid-19: After visit by UK tourists, 23 guides, drivers at Pench Tiger Reserve quarantined

After two foreign tourist groups visited the Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, 13 drivers and 10 nature guides have been home-quarantined since Monday, based on

After two foreign tourist groups visited the Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, 13 drivers and 10 nature guides have been home-quarantined since Monday, based on directions from the district administration.

HT Image

The first slot of nine tourists visited Pench on March 14, while the second group of 20 went to the park on March 17. All tourists were from the United Kingdom.

Jogendra Katyare, sub-divisional officer and magistrate, Ramtek, Nagpur, said, “I have issued this order on Sunday as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of people and the forest department. Our medical staff visited the reserve, checked the 23 people and did not find any Covid-19 symptoms. However, self-isolation is necessary. Also, there is misinformation being circulated that one of the persons has tested positive. This is false. We do not know the travel history of the UK nationals but have been told that they travelled from Kanha, Madhya Pradesh to Pench, Maharashtra.”

The reserve issued a statement on Monday confirming that all 23 persons have shown no symptoms. “Nobody has shown any symptoms and all are healthy. However, as a precautionary measure, they have been asked to home-quarantine till April 6,” said Ravikiran Govekar, field director, Pench Tiger Reserve.

All wildlife sanctuaries, tigers reserves and national parks in Maharashtra were closed to tourists, including Pench, from March 18 as per directions of the state government. “We were, however, informed that two tourist groups from the UK had visited the reserve prior to closure,” said Govekar. “All persons (driver and guides) that may have come in contact with them have been tested.”

Nitin Kakodkar, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), said, “A basic health check-up was done which showed that none of the guides or drivers had any symptoms of Covid-19.”

On March 17, the local range forest officer informed the SDO about the UK nationals visiting the park. “The SDO was provided a list of vehicle drivers and guides by the department. The SDO’s medical team, tested them, and declared they were healthy,” said Govekar. “However, somebody made that list public and created panic falsely stating that a few persons had tested positive for COVID 19.”

Govekar reiterated that the department had not received any information about the said foreign tourists being diagnosed with Covid 19. “We have noticed an array of social media posts spreading misinformation regarding this matter. We have informed district police officials and action will be taken against those speeding misinformation on social media,” he said.