Mysuru: Nanjangud primary contacts moved out of lodge after row

HM Aravind | TNN | Updated: Apr 4, 2020, 09:52 IST

Residents protest the decision to house primary contacts of Covid-19 patients in a lodge in Mysuru on Friday

MYSURU: The Nanjangud cluster outbreak is proving a headache for state authorities in more ways than one. While health department officials are still clueless on the source of the infection, the district administration’s decision to move primary contacts of positive cases to a public quarantine facility ran into stiff resistance from residents around.
Officials say there are more than 250 primary contacts of the 21 positive cases in Mysuru district. They expect the number of positive cases to rise and are preparing for a corresponding spike in primary contacts.
While those infected are being treated at an exclusive Covid-19 hospital on KRS Road, the administration is now tracking primary contacts – family and anyone who came in contact with those infected – and is moving them to a common quarantine facility.
A lodge in Devaraja Mohalla was converted into a facility to house primary contacts and officials moved 27 people, who have shown no symptoms of being infected so far, into the lodge on Thursday evening as per protocol. However, in the wee hours on Friday, scores of people spilled on to the streets to protest the move. It led to tension in the area and the standoff continued well into the morning, forcing authorities to move the 27 out.
The authorities favoured lodges since rooms have bathrooms attached, therefore limiting the chances of primary contacts venturing out. Officials had at first planned to house them in schools and hostels but discarded the idea since they would have to depend on common toilets, which would increase the chances of them contracting the virus.
However, residents mistook the 27 for positive cases and mounted a protest. Pratap Simha, Mysuru MP, rushed to pacify them, but the protest continued despite prohibitory orders in place. Police presence was beefed up as a precautionary measure.
Former mayor MJ Ravikumar, a resident of Devaraja Mohalla, told TOI officials should have thought the plan through. “This lodge is located in the heart of Mysuru and it is a residential locality. Residents fear they would be infected. Authorities should have moved primary contacts to hotels and lodgings on the outskirts.”
Mysuru deputy commissioner Abhiram G Sankar confirmed primary contacts were moved out of the lodge, but he warned that if people continued to hinder authorities, criminal cases would be filed against them.