20 MSEDCL staffers test +ve after Konkan cyclone duty

Nagpur: Twenty of the 42 employees of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), who went for around 17 days to restore power in Raigad district after the cyclone last month, have tested positive for Covid-19. MSEDCL has proactively tested the employees, all from Nagpur and Wardha districts, and is also taking care of their treatment.
A MSEDCL official told TOI the cyclone damaged power distribution infrastructure in Konkan on June 3. The workload was high and target was to restore power supply as soon as possible. Therefore, MSEDCL sent teams from all parts of the state to the cyclone-hit areas.
“Nagpur city sent 12 employees, 10 from Nagpur Rural and 20 from Wardha district went to Raigad on June 14. All returned on July 3. MSEDCL got their tests done at private laboratories. Nine from Wardha district, four from city and seven from Nagpur Rural tested positive while others are negative,” he said.
Zilla parishad doctors said one family member each of two MSEDCL employees also tested positive on Tuesday. One of the employee’s wife is a lady police constable in Nagpur Rural.
Before the cyclone, Raigad was facing high number of Covid-19 cases. Still, the MSEDCL employees did not hesitate to work there and help restore power supply.
Some more MSEDCL employees from remaining nine districts of Vidarbha were also sent to Konkan on the same task, but there are no reports of any staffers testing positive till date.
Also on Wednesday, five medical staffers of a private hospital at Sadar tested positive for Covid-19. The owner and doctor of this hospital had tested positive a couple of days ago. All 20 medical staffers were tested at IGGMCH.
Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) Dharampeth Zone had quarantined all 20 inside the hospital itself for last two days. On Wednesday, five who tested positive were shifted to isolation wards and remaining to institutional quarantine. The hospital has been shut for fumigation.
In the district, many front-line workers of NMC, medical staff of GMCH, police personnel, SRPF etc engaged in containing spread of Covid-19 and treating positive patients have tested positive.
With more easing of lockdown and allowing rapid antigen tests, cases are on the surge in the district. In the first eight days of July, 422 novel corona positive cases were registered. The total number of cases increased to 1,927 on Wednesday.
The district had registered first 1,000 cases in 96 days. The number of cases was 1,002 on June 14, and 925 cases have been registered in last 25 days, with the district heading for 2,000 cases.