1,000 migrants test Covid-19 positive since May 1 in Rajasthan

JAIPUR: Migrants who tested positive for Covid-19 breached the 1,000 mark in the state, with 151 new cases on Thursday.
Since May 1, as many as 1,141 migrants have tested positive for the virus after
coming to the state from hotspot districts in states such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
The state government, expecting Covid-19 figures to rise with the movement of migrants, had created adequate quarantine facilities.
‘Rajasthan welcoming migrants with open arms’
Jaipur: Chief minister Ashok Gehlot had earlier told TOI that there were ‘chances’ of cases rising not only in Rajasthan, but in all other states, and having adequate screening/testing and quarantine facilities was the way forward. After May 1, the state reported 3,606 positive cases, with migrants accounting for 1,141new patients.
The state government had made 14-day home quarantine or institutional quarantine mandatory for migrants. Additional chief secretary (health) Rohit Kumar Singh said, “Rajasthan welcomes migrants with open arms and will provide them all support, including the best possible healthcare. Many who travelled from hotspot districts in other states are being screened for influenzalike symptoms at borders and being quarantined as per protocol. With early detection and quality care, we expect all to be treated and discharged soon.”
Singh said that since migrants are travelling from hotspots like Mumbai, Indore, Surat, Ahmedabad, the possibility of them testing positive cannot be ruled out.
Tribal-dominated Dungarpur district is the most affected, where scores of migrants have come over the past few days, leading to a spike in Covid-19 cases. “There were only 15 cases in Dungarpur four days ago, but now the cases have increased to 275, out of which 261 are migrants. They came in buses mostly from Mumbai,” said a senior health department official in Dungarpur.
The other districts which are affected by migrants are Jalore (120), Pali (111), Nagaur (85), Sirohi (70), Rajsamand (64) and Jodhpur (60). A health department official in Pali said that eight tested positive on Thursday. Out of those, six had travelled from Mumbai by train and reached here. As many as 36 tested positive on Wednesday, who had travelled by trains from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Keeping a close eye on the movement of migrants, health minister Raghu Sharma said, “At least 7.25 lakh migrants have reached Rajasthan and are kept in home quarantine. However, 35,000 migrants have been kept at institutional quarantine facilities in different districts.”
The state government is expecting more migrants. Officials claimed that 13 lakh have registered to enter the state and six lakh to go out to other states. Sharma said workers coming from other states , should follow quarantine norms properly so that others, who have spent two months in lockdown, do not get affected.