Rajasthan returnees new worry for Chittoor officials

CHITTOOR: Ajmer Sharif pilgrims are now a cause of worry for Chittoor as 11 Rajasthan returnees have tested positive for coronavirus. Dargah Sharif, a revered Sufi shrine, falls under a red zone in the state. 
This has pushed Chittoor district’s Covid-19 tally to 165, according to the official Covid-19 bulletin. As 77 patients have been discharged, the number of active cases stood at 99 as on Friday. 

As many as 77 pilgrims returned from Rajasthan on May 10 and samples of 11 of them tested positive late on Thursday. However, in a relief to the administration, all the returnees were quarantined soon after their arrival. “All Ajmer returnees are quarantined at Golden Valley campus in Angallu village of Madanapalli mandal.

Their samples were collected at the district hospital. Out of the 33 tested samples, 11 are found to be positive and the infected were immediately shifted to district Covid-19 hospital in Chittoor”, DM&HO Dr M. Penchalaiah said. 

The DM&HO added the district administration had taken all necessary precautions while taking the Ajmer returnees to the quarantine centre, to the hospital for testing and also while shifting the 11 infectees to the Covid hospital. Among the 11, five are men and one is a 14-year-old girl. In other cases, two infectees, who are vegetable vendors, were linked to Koyambedu market in Chennai, and the others were primary and secondary contacts of previously identified patients.