Tension in Vizag's Gajuwaka after mutton seller tests positive, sells meat to over 50 people

By Newsmeter Network  Published on  7 April 2020 4:00 PM GMT
Tension in Vizags Gajuwaka after mutton seller tests positive, sells meat to over 50 people

Visakhapatnam: It was a tense situation in Gajuwaka industrial suburb after a mutton seller tested positive for Corona virus on 7 April. Sources said around 50 people who had purchased mutton from him on Sunday might also be infected.

Health officials, accompanied by the police, rushed to the man's residence on Tuesday morning and took him and 12 others, including two relatives, who came into contact with him to the hospital. On 2 April, officials had collected the man's samples but sent him home because he didn’t show any symptoms of COVID-19.

Gajuwaka zonal commissioner K. Sridhar said a medical team took the man to the hospital after an infected person from Poorna market told them he was among eight people who had offered prayers and stayed at a mosque in Parawada. The officials had taken the eight to the hospital on 2 April and sent their samples to the lab. The meat seller was allowed to go home after all others had tested negative for Corona virus.

Visakhapatnam commissioner of police R.K Meena said the man and his mother had visited the Chest Hospital on 2 April because the mother had a chest infection. “During the visit, he also gave his samples and returned home the same day. After he tested positive on Monday, he and 12 others were shifted to the hospital,” Mr Meena said.

He said health officials are conducting a survey to identify the man's primary and secondary contacts and those who had symptoms of Corona virus. "By Wednesday, we will find all his contacts,’’ he said, adding that all roads leading to the high-risk zone were barricaded to restrict the movement of people. But locals said the man was at the meat shop after he tested positive creating tension in the area.

Meanwhile, GVMC officials deployed tankers to spray sodium hypochloride in the high-risk zone. The zonal commissioner said officials will intensify the sanitisation drive as part of the cluster containment strategy. He appealed to the people not to come out of their homes except for emergencies.

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