Pizza delivery agent tests positive, 72 families told to quarantine
A 19-year-old teen, who delivered pizzas for a famous outlet, tested positive for coronavirus in Delhi after which 72 families were asked to self-quarantine themselves, media reports said on Thursday. The teen has been admitted to RML Hospital. The outlet where he worked is situated in Malviya Nagar and 17 of his colleagues were taken to a quarantine facility in Chattarpur. Here's what happened.
The boy wasn't keeping well, but hospitals didn't pay attention
Reports said the delivery boy worked at MojoPizza. South Delhi District Magistrate BM Mishra said he wasn't keeping well for almost a month. But his coughs were dismissed as normal flu by most of the hospitals. "But when he didn't recover, he was sent to RML where he tested positive for COVID-19," Mishra added. The boy had tested positive on April 11.
He didn't have travel history, yet tested positive
In the last 15 days, he had delivered pizza to 72 families in areas like Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar, and Savitri Nagar. All the families were asked to remain in quarantine. They are being monitored, reports added. Officials said the boy didn't have a travel history and it's likely that he caught the virus while delivering the items to one infected house.
The outlet has been shut down, revealed Zomato
On the incident, food delivery giant Zomato said, "Some of these orders were placed on Zomato. We are not sure whether the rider was affected at the time of delivery." Revealing that all co-workers tested negative, the company added, "As a precaution, the restaurant where the rider worked has suspended operations." Zomato said the government was already in touch with the exposed customers.
Riders wouldn't be working had they known of infection: Zomato
"It's near impossible for all of us to completely isolate ourselves, especially when we need outside support for essentials such as food...We believe that none of our riders should and would knowingly keep working if they knew they were infected with COVID-19," Zomato went on.
Notably, all districts of Delhi were labeled as red zones
This incident comes just a day after all nine districts of Delhi were categorized into the red zone. A red zone is an area where a sizeable number of infections have been reported and to keep a check on the spread of COVID-19, the government seals it completely. In the red zones, only essential services are allowed to function.
Delhi has over 1,500 cases; 30 have died
In Delhi, the number of COVID-19 infections stands at 1,561. 31 patients have recovered and 30 died. Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was among the first ones to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend the lockdown, initially imposed on March 25. The nationwide restrictions will now last till May 3. However, to give respite to the economy, the government allowed agricultural activities to function.
