Two COVID-19 positive persons shifted from home to hospital following alleged ostracism

It is shocking that educated people resort to such acts, says health official

The Department of Health on Friday shifted two persons from a gated community to ESI hospital, a week after they tested positive for COVID-19, following alleged ostracism from the residents’ welfare association at Mathigiri in Hosur.

Three persons had returned from Maharashtra on Monday to a gated community in Titan township, where one of them owned a house. The three, employed in a private company in Maharashtra, had rented a car and returned with a travel pass. The residents of the gated community had alerted the health authorities upon seeing the vehicle with Maharashtra registration.

The three men, including one from Mettur, were tested. While two of them tested positive, all the three were placed in isolation in the house after they were found to be “healthy with mild infection of the virus.”

However, five days later, the infected persons alleged ostracism by the residents’ welfare association. They alleged that food delivery was disallowed for their house.

Deputy Director of Health V. Govindan confirmed the allegation. According to him, the residents’ welfare association had ostracised the infected persons and demanded that they be shifted out of the premises to the hospital. “They are all educated, live in large houses with adequate space between each house. But it was shocking to see this degree of lack of awareness. Even people in the villages are helpful to each other,” Dr .Govindan said.

In the best interest of the infected persons, two persons were shifted to the ESI hospital in Hosur for isolation and monitoring.

“They are asymptomatic and in good health. That was why they were kept in home quarantine with necessary treatment,” Dr. Govindan said.

Two more test positive

Two more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Shoolagiri on Friday.

The 20-year-old man and 40-year-old woman were the family members of one of the women who tested positive in Shoolagiri on Tuesday. The women, both flower sellers, had contracted the virus reportedly from a wedding that had guests from Villupuram.