Punjab-man, who died of coronavirus, infected 23; 15 villages sealed
In a troublesome turn of events, a 70-year-old Punjab man, who died of coronavirus, is believed to have infected 23 people and met hundreds when he jumped self-quarantine rules. Along with his companions, the deceased is believed to have visited 15 villages, that have been sealed, an NDTV report said. Officials are now visiting every village to trace possible suspects. Here's more.
The man had traveled to Germany and Italy
The deceased is a Gurudwara priest and had a travel history to Germany and Italy. Along with two friends, he stayed in Europe for almost two weeks. On March 6, he arrived in Delhi and reached Punjab by road. Between March 8 and 10, he attended an event in Anandpur Sahib, after which he returned to his village in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.
Deceased met hundreds and his infected kin scores
Before he tested positive, the priest met hundreds of people. In his family, 14 have been infected, including his granddaughter and grandson. They met scores of people, possibly infecting them too. The task at hand is to now map possible suspects and the officials are combing villages for the same. The deceased was supposed to remain indoors, but he didn't.
He was India's fourth COVID-19 casualty
Officials believe the deceased and his two friends, with their reckless behavior, infected people in Nawanshahr, Mohali, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, and Jalandhar. The deceased was the country's fourth casualty of COVID-19 after deaths had been reported from Delhi, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.
Two women tested positive for coronavirus yesterday
It should be noted that the mother of one of the deceased's friends tested positive for coronavirus. She is 73-years old. Another woman, who tested positive on Thursday was 72 years old. She hailed from Jalandhar. On March 16, she complained of cough, fever, and breathlessness. Later, it was detected that she had pneumonia. She is on medication with non-invasive ventilation.
In welcome news, Punjab's first COVID-19 patient has tested negative
On a related note, after a fresh test, Punjab's first COVID-19 patient turned out to be negative. The Italy-returned NRI will be discharged from the hospital soon and his health has improved tremendously, civil surgeon Dr. Prabhdeep Kaur Johal of the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar said. His two relatives were sent home after 14-day quarantine. Punjab's tally stands at 33.