Health workers at Bapudham Colony in Chandigarh on Saturday. (Photo: Kamleshwar Singh)
Another ward attendant from GMCH, Sector 32, who is a primary contact of the attendant from Bapu Dham Colony who tested positive for the novel coronavirus the previous night, has tested positive and was admitted in the hospital on Saturday.
“The attendant is a resident of Mauli Jagran,” said GMCH spokesperson Anil Moudgil. The attendant had been on duty in the same ward as the Bapu Dham colony resident five days ago. There are 29 confirmed coronavirus cases in the city now.
The patient had been in contact with his family regularly until he was quarantined at the hospital Friday night along with 21 other hospital contacts of the Bapu Dham patient. His family includes his wife, his two younger brothers and four children aged between 2 and 16 years. He is asymptomatic as of now.
130 contacts traced to Bapu Dham patient
Meanwhile, the attendant (30) from Bapu Dham who tested positive was booked on Saturday for violating curfew norms and other charges. Police said that on April 12, he had organised a party to celebrate his wedding anniversary, inviting more than 40 people to his house in a triple-storey building in Bapu Dham Colony-26 including family members, children among them.
At least 130 of his contacts have been identified and quarantined in their homes at Bapu Dham Colony as well as Mauli Jagran area of Chandigarh. Both the colonies are congested and densely populated, making it difficult for police and health department employees to conduct screening and quarantining activities.
The UT health department will share the names of these people with police at Sector 26 and Mauli Jagran police station. However, a police officer said, “We are cross-checking the list of contacts of the Bapu Dham patient. His brother is in our contact list. The health department is yet to share the list of Mauli Jagran residents with the area police.”
Apart from this, 21 hospital contacts including seven junior residents, seven staff nurses, one technician, two attendants and three sweepers were sampled and tested negative for COVID-19.