Over 10% of samples taken from youngsters turn positive

June 04, 2021 06:05 pm | Updated 06:05 pm IST

A health worker takes a swab from an unnecessary vehicle rider to test for COVID-19 in Palayamkottai on Friday.

A health worker takes a swab from an unnecessary vehicle rider to test for COVID-19 in Palayamkottai on Friday.

TIRUNELVELI

More than 10% of the samples lifted from the people moving around in the city without any reason during the intensified lockdown have tested positive for COVID-19.

After the intensified lockdown was clamped, the police erected check-posts near Anna Statue in Tirunelveli Junction, Chellapandian Traffic Island at Vannarpet and at Thatchanallur to discourage people from moving around without any valid reason on their bikes.

However, youngsters continued to defy the instructions by the police, who made them write 5 Thirukkural couplets on a piece of paper as a punishment. As most of them do not know anything about Thirukkural, the mobile phones came to their rescue in completing the task.

In the third stage, the police have started lifting swabs from the violators with the help of health workers. More than 10% of these people have tested positive.

“Over the past five days, we’ve lifted 438 samples from such persons caught at check-posts in Tirunelveli Junction, Vannarpet and Thatchanallur. More than 10% of them - 48 - have tested positive for COVID-19. Since we’ve collected their addresses and the phone numbers, we’ve started screening them to ascertain their health condition and get them admitted to hospital if their health condition is not that good,” said a senior corporation official.

He said the movement of these youngsters might have spread the viral infection to others who had come out for buying medicines or food and for some other genuine reason.

“These people, without knowing that they had already contracted the virus, are moving around. The worst part of this violation is that these youngsters might have been the reason behind the infection of their family members also as they are not aware that they had already been infected. So we expect the police to assume tough posture against these violators at least in the days to come,” said a senior doctor of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital posted in the COVID-19 ward.

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