NMC missed foreign-returned persons in Satranjipura drive

Sarfaraz Ahmed | TNN | May 5, 2020, 04:19 IST

Nagpur: Municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has been saying that “one positive Covid-19 patient can infect around 400 persons if not isolated” citing the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study to justify aggressive containment drive in Satranjipura, city’s coronavirus hotspot.
Yet, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) containment team left out probably a few key suspects in the serpentine list of close contacts of positive patients from Satranjipura.
Between March 6 and 23, over 20 persons living in Satranjipura, Telipura and Shanti Nagar had returned from different foreign tours and were advised home isolation without even conduct of RT-PCR tests.
The NMC failed to recall these persons and conduct tests even after Satranjipura exploded with Covid-19 cases. Even stranger is the fact that some of these persons have come in close contact with the positive persons.
In the containment drive, over 1,400 persons said to be close contacts of those testing positive were quarantined. Around 100 people having Satranjipura connection have tested positive so far.
A 68-year-old man from Satranjipura, first Covid-19 deceased from city, had tested positive a day after his death on April 5. The man and all other positive persons, except his nephew, had no travel history. The nephew had travelled to Saudi Arabia, but back in February.
One of the foreign-returned men resides in the building where a paramedic used to visit. The paramedic had come in contact with the deceased and later tested positive. She is admitted to GMCH.
Residents alleged that the foreign-returned man has been left out “as he is close to a politician who has been accusing the minorities of not cooperating with NMC”.
The doctor, who runs the clinic where the paramedic works, has gone into self-isolation while several of her close contacts had been placed in institutional quarantine.
The list of 23 foreign-returned persons was prepared by the divisional commissioner’s office and handed over to NMC as well as local police stations. TOI has a copy of the list. These flyers were first taken to MLA hostel for screening and advised 14-day home quarantine.
Satranjipura zone assistant commissioner Vijay Humne admitted that such person ought to present themselves for institutional quarantine. “In special cases, we have allowed people from this area to isolate themselves at home. If these foreign-returned persons are not among them and still at home, then it is a matter of serious concern,” he said.
Humne said his team will trace these people and place them in institutional quarantine.