COIMBATORE: A careless act of a 61-year-old man from Vadamadurai in Thudiyalur has forced the Coimbatore health department to collect samples from all personnel attached to the Thudiyalur police station to test for COVID-19. The man, who tested positive for the infection on Monday, had spent the past week distributing food to members of the public along with Thudiyalur police. He had also visited the district collectorate in the first week of April seeking permission to distribute food during the nationwide lockdown. Officials are now scrambling to track every person with whom he came in contact to isolate and test them.
The man had travelled from New Delhi to Coimbatore by flight on March 23. People who attended the Delhi conference were on the same flight. The district had instructed that inter-state travellers should also remain under home quarantine for 28 days. A furious Coimbatore collector K Rajamani pointed out that the man could have spread the infection to more people while distributing food. Rajamani said the man would be booked for violating home quarantine.
"It is a clear violation. The man should have followed the quarantine rule. Each day, hundreds of people visit the Collector’s office and he was one of them. We were not aware of his visit. He has complicated matters for us. For this violation, he will be booked," Rajamani told Express.
According to Thudiyalur police, the man had claimed that he’d gotten himself tested for COVID-19 twice and the tests had come back negative.
"He also visited the district collector’s office in the first week of April and submitted a petition with officials seeking permission for distributing food to needy people. Soon after, he engaged in food distribution for nearly a week at Thudiyalur,” said Balamurali Sundaram, Inspector of Police, Thudiyalur.
"As per the home quarantine norm, the person has to stay at home for 28 days. It is not clear where he got tested and got a negative result," Deputy Director of Health G Rameshkumar said.
On Saturday, the man developed symptoms of COVID-19, including fever and cold. He visited the Primary Health Centre at Thudiyalur, before being admitted to ESI hospital. His samples were tested again and on Monday, he tested positive.
Following this, health officials have started collecting samples from persons who were in contact with the man, especially personnel attached to Thudiyalur police station, PHC staff and his close contacts. Further, officials are not sure how many people he had met while distributing food in that one week.
On Monday, 31 persons who had contact with him were isolated and samples were lifted for testing.
On Tuesday, samples of 32 police personnel attached to Thudiyalur police and PHC staff were taken for testing. Health officials will also be collecting samples from others, including sanitary workers, who visited the police station in recent days. Police added that no members of the public had visited the station recently.
Express tried to speak to the man for his version but he refused to answer questions and cut the call.
As many as 139 persons travelled in four flights from Delhi to Coimbatore between March 23 and 25. Health officials are closely monitoring all of them.
