COIMBATORE: With the Selvapuram area which houses a number of gold smithies is turning out to be a major COVID-19 hotspot in Coimbatore, the official sources asserted that almost all samples collected from the locality are now rendering positive result.
Top officials also confirmed The New Indian Express that over 300 positive cases had emerged from this particular area in the last 12 days. On Friday, the Swamy Iyer Street in Selvapuram recorded 27 fresh cases.
According to the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine sources, the positive cases from Selvapuram is either to do with people who are into the gold production or their friends and family members.
The first set of positive cases from Ayyappa Nagar in Selvapuram was reported on July 6. In the following days, the health department noticed a spike in the number of positive cases emerging particularly from the vicinity of Selvapuram.
A top official in the health department said, "The employees at the gold smithies work jam-packed, throwing the physical distancing caution into the wind. One would contract the viral infection easily if their co-worker is infected. Moreover, the whole Selvapuram area comprising nearly 10 major streets are densely populated spots in the city."
As most of the infected persons are asymptomatic, the City Corporation follows an algorithm that could ease their contact tracing process.
"As most of the persons are asymptomatic, at least one or two people in their family exhibit Covid-19 symptoms. So, we could differentiate the infected persons with non-infected people by monitoring the health condition of their family members," explained a higher official in City Corporation.
However, the health department officials stated that Selvapuram shall never cease to report fresh cases in the coming days.
When contacted, a higher official in the district health department said, "We could liken the condition of Selvapuram area with the present condition of Madurai district, as almost all samples are rendering positive results. The people who tested negative were told to quarantine themselves for 14 days as their test result could vary later on."
Following the spike in Covid-19 cases in Selvapuram, District Collector K Rajamani who recently visited the area on July 6 notice a few people in a gold smithy working too close in meager space. On the same day, the civic body directed the gold smithies across the city to stay closed until further orders.
A spokesperson of Coimbatore Gold Jewellery Manufacturers Association said most of the gold smithies function out of houses. "As many as four to five workers toil in a 10x10, 11x11 or 10x16 rooms in their houses adhering to the social distancing norms. The orders to stop operations of gold manufacturing units and jewelleries affected the livelihood of the workers," the spokesperson added.