Virus source not being traced, contacts remain untested: Jalandhar woman’s kin

Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, March 28

Two days after a 70-year-old Nijatam Nagar woman tested positive for Covid-19, the source from which she received the virus remains untraced even as it has now been confirmed by her family that there is no travel history in the family.

Even as alarmed residents of Nijatam Nagar submitted a list of 26 people whom the woman came in close contact with, residents rue none of them were being tested. Her family says she might have met thousands during a function in the area.

Presently, 11 members of the woman’s family, including her three sons, three daughter-in-laws and five grandchildren have been kept in isolation at the Civil Hospital. A boy with fever in the area hasn’t been tested despite repeated requests. Several elderly sevadars, like the woman, who were active during the function, also freely interacted with residents.

The woman’s son, who lives at Nijatam Nagar and is presently in isolation, said, “We have no travel history. My mother doesn’t even have a passport. She was active during the three-day annual sammelan which is held at the Advait Swaroop Ashram in Nijatam Nagar every year in March. She met the sangat, served langar and mingled with guests. People from Ludhiana, Delhi and Nawanshahr came to the ashram. The trustees of the ashram include NRIs too. Many gurus and VVIPs from across the country also participated in the proceedings. Any of them might have Covid. But we don’t know the status of any them yet.”

Nikhil Sharma, general secretary of the Nijatam Nagar Residents’ Welfare Society and the woman’s neighbour, said, “We have sent a list of 26 people to the Health Department and district administration. We are apprehensive because the root of the virus isn’t known yet. Despite repeated requests, the family’s neighbour, a young boy who is symptomatic and has persistent fever, hasn’t been checked by the health teams. Unless sampling is conducted, we won’t know the root of the infection. The carrier might still be walking around.”

While one of her sons lives at Nijatam Nagar, two other sons are residents of Rama Mandi and Narayan Nagar. Collectively, they have five children. Meanwhile, one of the woman’s 15-year-old sons had also been playing and socialising in the neighbourhood before she tested positive. While the samples were taken three days ago, the reports are yet to arrive.

The family says while she was healthy during the three-day sammelan held at Nijatam Nagar, her health deteriorated on March 23. Currently, she is admitted at CMC, Ludhiana. Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar, Dr Gurinder Kaur Chawla, said, “We are sampling all people who have come in contact with positive patients. Till date, we have taken 81 samples. Health teams are bringing new suspects to our notice. We have seven ventilators at the Civil Hospital and 115 private ventilators on the backup.”