Tamil Nadu health officials trace contacts of man ‘responsible’ for Covid-19 cluster in Malaysia

MADURAI: Health officials in Sivaganga, a southern district in Tamil Nadu, have identified four close contacts of the man, accused of spreading a Covid-19 strain, believed to be 10 times more infectious, among a cluster of 45 people in Malaysia, where he has been jailed for violating quarantine rules.
It was reported that a mutation called D614G had been found in at least three of the forty-five people, who had been infected by the man, who returned to Malaysia in July this year from his native Sivaganga.
On coming to know of his Sivaganga connections, health officials in the district swung into action and was successful in identifying the close contacts of the man. Deputy director of health services Dr Yasodha Mani said they had found it difficult initially as he had not given the correct name and address.
Later, however, he was identified as a 57-year-old man from Rahuman Ushman Sandu, in Karamarajar Road in the eighth ward of the Ilayangudi town panchayat. He arrived from Malaysia on Feb 29 this year and left on July 13. He is a permanent resident of Malaysia and has a hotel in Napoh.
Four of his close contacts were identified and will be screened. Work was on to trace those who had been in contact with him. He may have been negative when he left India, and there are chances that he picked up the virus during the course of his travel, she said.
Sivaganga district collector J Jayakanthan said the man had been traced with the details of his travel dates obtained from Malaysia.
“We heard he had tested negative on his arrival in that country, and tested positive only after five days. There is a possibility he may have been infected even after going to that country. We are awaiting further information,” he said.
Reports stated that the man, a restauranter from Sivaganga who had returned to Malaysia, had violated the home quarantine rules, on his return from India, and hence he was imprisoned for five months by the Malaysian government.
Malaysian director general of health Noor Hisham Abdullah, had stated on his social media handle that the detection of the new form of the virus in two clusters, including that involving the Indian from Sivaganga and another of people returning from the Philippines meant that more caution need to be exercised as vaccines being developed would be ineffective against the new strain.