PUDUCHERRY: The number of active COVID-19 cases in Puducherry rose to 12, with three more people including a nine-year-old child testing positive on Friday.
All the three are close contacts of the factory worker from Arumparthapuram who tested positive a couple of days back. They comprise his wife, daughter and a friend working in the same factory. Incidentally, the friend is the son of the COVID-19 patient from Panruti who has been admitted to JIPMER, said Director of Health and Family Welfare Dr S Mohan Kumar.
It is suspected that the Arumparthapuram man contacted COVID-19 from his friend when he visited the JIPMER medical ward. He spent half a day at the hospital, said Dr Mohan Kumar. The man in turn infected his wife and child.
Already, around 40 people, who travelled with him in the bus, worked with him in the shift as well as had food with him in the canteen, have been quarantined. Further, he had visited a mobile shop and a pharmacy. As a result of one man, so many have to be watched, said the director, adding that if he had stayed at home instead of visiting the hospital, this situation could have been avoided.
The rise in cases is a cause for concern, said Secretary Health Prashant Kumar Panda, adding that it indicates that adequate social distancing is not being maintained in Puducherry after the opening of many sectors. He advised people that if they develop even the slightest symptoms, they should self-isolate and report to the nearest PHC so that swabs are taken for testing. The earlier they come, the better the chances of cure, he said.
So far, 5012 RT-PCR tests have been done and 4963 samples were found negative, while the results of the others are awaited. As these samples have been drawn from various places, it indicates that the disease has not spread, he said.