Patiala activist +ve, distributed ration among 500

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 15

Around 500 people in the district are at the risk of a Covid infection after a 50-year-old social worker tested positive on Tuesday night. The worker had been distributing ration at various places in the city during the lockdown before he fell sick.

The Health Department has already advised around 479 people to stay in home isolation while high-risk contacts are continuously being tested for the deadly virus. Their test results are awaited.

The department now faces a Herculean task to trace the source of infection. It said at least 480 people came into contact with the patient, but a majority of them were at a low risk.

In the wake of the missing source, the threat of community transmission looms large, say experts. After the social worker tested positive, the department sealed the area near his residence and conducted a survey. Patiala SDM Charanjeet Singh said the patient was involved in distributing food in some areas of the city. He said, “Until now, the source of infection has not been traced. However, it appears that he was exposed to the virus while distributing ration.”

Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Harish Malhotra said, “Our teams are on the job, including three senior medical officers and two district epidemiologists. We have already identified high and low-risk contacts and their samples have been taken.”

Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit said, “This new positive case hints that the district has entered stage three which is the community transmission stage. Therefore, I request people to stay home.”

Wife, 2 kids infected

Three family members of the social worker tested positive for Covid on Wednesday evening. The Patiala Civil Surgeon said his wife and two children were being shifted to the isolation ward of the Government Rajindra Hospital. They had been earlier home-quarantined.