Gregarious teen tests +ve, lands 156 in q-centre

Nagpur: A teenager from West Nagpur, known for a carefree lifestyle and mingling with many friends including transgenders, tested positive last week. Contact tracing led to near-total evacuation of two buildings comprising around 50 flats to shift over 150 residents to an institutional quarantine centre.
The mass quarantining has raised questions in the wake of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) adopting new policy of micro containment zones, under which limited suspects are picked up.
In fact, the civic body’s health officials declared a nearby bigger housing society with over 100 flats as containment zone but quarantined only a handful of family members of positive patients from there.
Last week, the girl developed fever all of a sudden and went on her own to IGGMCH where her swab samples were taken. After she tested positive, the NMC team placed her two brothers, mother and grandmother in institutional quarantine. One of the brothers too tested positive.
While surveying the area, the NMC health officials learnt about the girl’s movements and decided to quarantine all families with around 150 members from the two buildings.
On Sunday, TOI visited the locality to speak to residents about the NMC’s different moves for the same area.
Facing a possible health hazard, nearby residents blamed the teenaged girl’s lifestyle which included spending time with men and transgenders.
She had also been spotted smoking and drinking in the open with many strangers, including men from other localities, they said. The transgenders, who have been sent to quarantine centre, also had strangers visiting them even during odd hours.
Much to the dismay of the civic health officials, 18 of those quarantined from the two buildings have tested positive so far.
A zonal medical official, refusing to be named, said that more Covid-19 positive cases means the area is contaminated. “There is a difference between the lifestyle of people living in the nearby bigger housing society and these two buildings.
“In the bigger one, we didn’t’ notice much mingling of residents. But the buildings where the teenager lives have common amenities and corridors. The girl lives on second floor and must have come in contact with residents of the other building,” the official said.
The official said the civic team was told that the girl used to work in the homes of transgenders. “Among the 150 suspects are six transgenders. This is a bigger worry as they visited many places as part of their traditional practice of seeking money from people. Two of them live in another building at a distance. Test results of all of them are awaited.
“In case any of them tests positive, residents of this building too will have to be quarantined,” the official said.