Slowly but surely situation is improving in Jogulamba-Gadwal, one of the eight hot-spot districts for coronavirus in the State.
Though high alert was sounded in this southernmost district of the State with two of the 23 coronavirus positive persons dying, no sharp rise was recorded in past few days. Barring a fresh positive case reported on Thursday, there are no more critical cases in the district.
Close to 60 persons from this district had reportedly participated in Tablighi Jamaat held in New Delhi. All of them returned on different dates. With the efforts of Intelligence wing and local police, all of them were traced and quarantined.
“Sixteen of them tested positive for COVID-19. Majority of them were from Gadwal town and mandals of Aija, Shanthinagar and Rajoli,” police officers monitoring the situation said. Within Gadwal town, Mominmela colony recorded highest number of cases.
All TJ returnees, who tested positive were shifted to Gandhi Hospital. A paper plate maker, aged above 50 years (not a TJ meeting participant), contracted coronavirus. He used to live in Gadwal town. Inquiries by police indicated that he had met some of the TJ returnees.
Among them was an elderly person. He used to regularly attend local religious programmes and prayers. Condition of both the persons deteriorated. “Apparently their age was one of the factors that aggravated their condition,” the police said. The two elderly persons died of the virus.
Startled by the deaths, the district administration tightened movement of people in the three mandals and localities of the town from where positive cases were recorded. The authorities were worried a bit after the paper plate maker’s son and daughter-in-law tested positive for COVID-19.
“Their condition is being monitored closely. We hope to see improvement in their condition in next few days,” the police said. One respite for the officials is that there are no cases in which they could not ascertain how the persons contracted the virus.
“The seven persons who got the virus had directly or indirectly interacted with the 16 people who earlier tested positive,” the authorities said. A 32-year-old bicycle mechanic from the town was the latest case of local transmission.
