Most of the 156 people, who had arrived in Telangana from the United Kingdom and remained untraceable, were finally tracked down by Health department staff with the help of police.
They could be not be traced earlier as their addresses and phone numbers were incorrect. The foreign returnees had shifted from the addresses mentioned in their passport, or had given UK phone numbers, wrong phone numbers or kept their phones switched off.
However, struggles of the staff did not end after tracing the UK returnees. Some of the people refused to undergo COVID-19 tests and demanded the staff to show orders from government mandating them to get examined.
The staff were desperately trying to trace them as one person with the new variant of coronavirus and asymptomatic could spread it widely.
Deputy District Medical and Health Officer of Medchal-Malkajgiri, N. Narayana Rao said when they went to the addresses mentioned by the foreign returnee, the location was a school in one case, and an open plot in another case. They managed to find 19 out of 27 untraceable returnees.
“We managed to trace them with the help of police. In a few cases, our staff went to the old address mentioned in the passport, enquired with neighbours about new address, and manager to find the returnees,” said J. Venkati, Hyderabad’s DMHO.
Hesitation over test
When some of them refused to get tested, Dr Venkati said he explained to them the importance of getting tested, and how one asymptomatic coronavirus carrier could spread the virus to several people.
Threat of an asymptotic carrier to hundreds of people was emphasised.
Health officials said the exercise of tracing the returnees has stretched thin the staff who are already exhausted with the pandemic management.
