The Perambalur headquarters Fire Station at Thuraimangalam in the town has been sanitised and sealed temporarily after a fireman tested positive for COVID-19 in the district. All personnel serving at the station have been home quarantined, officials said.
U. Thamotharan, District Fire Officer, and 16 other officers have all been asked to be home quarantined after one of their men tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. All 16 Fire and Rescue personnel, along with two drivers and two other workers at the office were asked to undergo testing as a precautionary measure after a policeman in the district tested positive last week. When they were all tested, a fireman tested positive, Mr. Thamotharan said.
As a preventive measure, all 16 men and their families have been home quarantined for two weeks while the 33-year-old fireman who tested positive has been admitted to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Tiruchi for treatment, he said.
Officials of the Health Department have lifted samples from all the family members of the Fire and Rescue personnel including the patient’s family who reside in the quarters next to the fire station.
Perambalur Fire Station has been shut and sealed for a period of five days, he added. Municipal workers have been asked to sanitise the station.
Meanwhile, temporary arrangements have been made to ensure firemen are on standby in case of emergencies. “Personnel from nearby Veppur Fire Station will attend to emergency calls which will all be routed to them,” Mr. Thamotharan said.
Another positive
A 19-year-old college student also tested positive in the district. Both patients did not have any travel or contact history to anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19. However, a detailed investigation, including contact tracing is on with respect to both patients, official sources said.
With this, the total number of positive cases in the district is seven, of which one patient has recovered and has been discharged.
