Orange tag under threat: Five new Covid-19 cases including nine-month-old child in Nadia 

   Three more containment zones are likely to be set up


Biswabrata Goswami

KRISHNAGAR, 13 MAY: Five persons including a nine-month-old girl have reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 in Nadia, taking the total number of cumulative cases to 14 till today.

Among 14 cases, only five new cases are active while the rest have already been discharged after they tested negative thrice during their stays in the Covid hospitals.

As the Nadia district falls under the orange zone, the fresh new five cases in a single day may put it into the red zone.

A senior health official, however, said that one positive case has no connection with the district as the infected police person, who tested positive in Kolkata, had not gone to his native village in Nakashipara. During his swab test he registered his address as a resident of Nakashipara in Nadia and thus he has been treated as a positive case from Nadia by the state health department. It should be corrected soon.

“Apart from this, two other cases have been reported from Gangnapur under Ranaghat-II block. But, these two persons are migrant workers and they have tested positive in East Burdwan. We are checking the history of these two persons and then we will tag them in our district’s account”, said a health official.

The district administration, on the other hand, is likely to announce three more containment zones by tomorrow. One in Santipur while two others will be in Gangnapur area in Ranaghat –II block, an administrative official said.

Sources in the district health department said the nine-month-old girl child, a resident of Barkulia village under Bagachra panchayat in Santipur, was admitted in a private hospital at Park Circus in Kolkata around 15 days ago for her ailments. Her family members, however, brought her back to their home in fear a few days later when some corona positive cases were reported in that hospital. They then took her to the Santipur hospital for treatment from where she was referred to the Krishnagar Sadar hospital. As her condition was critical, she was again referred to the Kalyani Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital a few days ago.

“Yesterday, her swab sample was sent to Kolkata for a test and her test report returned positive today”, said a senior health official.

According to a health official, five persons including a driver of an ambulance and a nurse have been sent to an isolation center for observation. This apart, 25 persons in the locality who came in contact with the girl and her family members have been advised to stay in home quarantine.

Soon after the report came to him, the superintendent of Santipur hospital conducted a meeting with the chairman of Rogi Kalyan Samity and local administration in view to combat the spread of the virus in the local community.

The administration has already sealed off the village and announced a containment zone, an administrative official said.

A 55-year-old police person, who is attached with the Tiljala police station in Kolkata and a resident of Kanthalberia under Nakashipara police station limits in Nadia, tested positive today. As he had not gone to his native village for the last three months, the district administration has no headache for sending his family members in quarantine here, a police official said.

Meanwhile, the Nadia district administration was apparently hurried for the whole day to nab a corona positive person who fled from a private nursing home in Asansole. Finally, the man was found from his rented house at Bowbazar in Krishngara and he was immediately sent to the Kalyani SNR Carnival Covid hospital for further tests.

According to health officials, the man, a resident of Kusthia in Tehatta had gone to Asansole for his Ayurvedic business. But, he was admitted in a nursing home where he had tested positive for Covid-19. Three days ago, he fled from an isolation center and stayed in various places including his relative houses in Tehatta and Nakashipara. Today, after tracking his cell phone location, the police picked him up from Bowbazar area in Krishnagar where he lives in a rented house with his family. Suspecting the spread of the virus, the district administration is now tracking the persons who came in contact with him at various places.

A health official said, “We will again collect swab samples for a test to confirm whether the man is infected or not”.