Samples of 61 suspects collected in Faridkot

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 5

Hours after a coronavirus case was detected in the town, the district Health Department with the help of the administration and the police has collected samples of 61 suspects in the district in the past 24 hours. Of the total suspects, 14 are members of the Tablighi Jamaat. It is believed that the rest of the 47 suspects came in contact with the Covid patient here.

Apart from collecting samples of these 47 persons, the Health Department has informed the authorities about 22 persons of Ferozepur, Rampura Phul, Jalandhar and New Delhi as they are believed to have come in contact with the district’s first Covid patient in the past 20 days.

Sources in the Health Department said after extensive contact tracing of the patient, it had found that apart from meeting 47 persons in the district since March 12, the patient had met five persons of Ferozepur, four of Rampura Phul, six of Jalandhar and seven of Delhi.

“We have sent a list of these persons to their respective districts and New Delhi so that the health department authorities can take preventive measures as per the protocol,” said a senior official of the Health Department here.

Besides collecting the samples, the Health Department has been quarantined 180 persons, who came in contact with the patient, at their homes.

“The patient is stable and in good health and taking a normal diet. So, there is no need for anyone to be panicked. We just demand cooperation of the public. Anyone who had come in contact with the patient in the past 20 days must voluntarily come forward so that the Health Department can keep a tab on his or her health,” said Dr Rajinder Kumar, Civil Surgeon Faridkot. “All those persons who have been quarantined and whose samples have been collected are in good health without any visible symptom of the coronavirus,” said Dr Rajinder.

“Eight teams of the Health Department under the supervision of Senior Medical Officer Dr Chander Sekhar have been assigned the task of carrying a door-to-door visit in Harindra Nagar, the residential locality of the patient, to enquire about the health of people. We have already sanitised this whole locality and requesting people to contact us immediately if they show symptom of Covid,” said the Civil Surgeon.

“The Health Department has collected samples of 14 persons who are believed to be members of the Tablighi Jamaat. Without taking into account whether they had participated in the congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz or not, we have taken their samples as a precautionary measure,” said a senior officer in the district administration.