More than 2,000 positive tested persons in Pune city do not recall the source of their coronavirus infection
Pune: The best strategy to contain the coronavirus outbreak is to test maximum citizens and do contact tracing of positive identified persons, but health and civic administration officials in the city are feeling helpless as more than 2,000 positive tested persons do not recall the source of their coronavirus infection. Since the source of infection is not known, officials have to face difficulty in tracing close contacts and thereby reducing the count of cases and mortality rate.
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials have recorded a total of 17288 positive cases up to June 30 in the city area. Out of these, 11.67 per cent that is 2010 cases are such in which the source of infection is not known to the COVID-positive tested person. These 2010 persons did not have any foreign travel history or they did not come in close contact of any COVID-positive relatives, friends or family members. Puzzled by these facts, PMC officials tried to investigate the source of their infection but these persons could not recall it. Now, health officials suspect that these persons may have visited or touched an area where a COVID-positive patient was present.
According to PMC officials, out of the total Covid-19 positive cases about 77.40 per cent which is 13334 cases were identified to be caused by first-contact or direct close contact with the other COVID-infected person. In these cases, mostly the first-contact were family members, friends or relatives.
PMC has traced 7 per cent that is 1234 positive cases through the testing of symptomatic patients in containment zones. A door-to-Door survey conducted by the civic body has helped them detect 541 cases which are 3.14 per cent of the total cases. Only 74 COVID-positive patients were detected through the fever clinic check mechanism.
Interestingly, the primary cause of the spread of coronavirus in the city was persons with foreign travel history. About 5,935 persons with travel history have been tested for COVID-19 so far but only 35 positive cases (0.35 per cent) were identified out of the total cases. The first case was detected on March 9 in Pune city in which a couple had a travel history of Dubai to Pune.
INFECTION SOURCE DETECTED