COVID-19 | Srikakulam on alert as district reports first three cases

Three women, all family members of man who had come from Delhi, test positive for COVID-19

Srikakulam reported its first three COVID-19 positive cases on Sunday, worrying the district administration which has so far managed to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The three cases are family members of a Delhi Metro Rail employee who had tested positive initially but his subsequent test reports were negative. The final test was conducted at a Kakinada laboratory, he tested negative. He came to Srikakulam on March 19 and was under home quarantine in Patapatnam mandal.

His wife, her sister and mother have tested positive both in the first and final reports.

The man wanted to return to Delhi following which officials directed him to obtain a fitness certificate and COVID-19 negative report. He went for testing in Srikakulam a couple of days ago. The samples of the three women family members were also tested. All three women tested positive.

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Following a directive from Srikakulam Collector J.Nivas, nearly 70 persons suspected to have come in contact with the man in the last one month have been sent to a quarantine facility. According to sources, his mother-in-law is a vegetable seller and continued her business till the lockdown rules came into force on March 24.

Officials said that they were collecting details of persons whom they had come in contact with between March 19 and 24. In the backdrop of three positive cases, Srikakulam police department has decided to implement lockdown rules strictly in the entire Patapatnam mandal which is also very close to the neighbouring Odisha State.

Meanwhile, the district administration confirmed that 1,422 people out of 1,445 foreign returnees had tested negative. They also completed 28 days of quarantine. The district administration collected 4,439 samples and 3,280 were confirmed as negative. The results of as many as 1,159 samples are awaited.