india

Updated: Mar 28, 2020 22:13 IST

A 29-year-old woman who was asked to stay quarantined at home violated the instructions and took two trains from New Delhi to reach Tehatta, about 170 kilometres north of Kolkata. She has tested positive for Covid-19, along with her six-year-old son and nine-month-old daughter, a 45-year-old relative and her 11-year-old son. The family allegedly socialised and went to the local market too.

What has complicated matters is that the people who came in contact with the family are refusing to admit it. The district administration has appealed to the locals to voluntarily disclose whether they came in contact with the family without which the disease could spread in Bengal.

“Not many people are admitting that they came in touch with the family. This could aggravate matters,” said a senior district official.

The 29-year-old woman is a resident of Uttarakhand and her 45-year-old relative is a resident of Delhi.

According to a senior health official of Nadia district in West Bengal, the woman had on March 16 met her cousin in New Delhi who had returned from UK, following which she was advised by the Delhi administration to stay in home quarantine. However, she took the Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express on March 19, reached Kolkata on March 20 and took a passenger train to reach Tehatta in Nadia district.

Her children were with her. She was accompanied by another relative. These five people travelled together and all of them have tested positive for Covid-19 on March 27.

Her male cousin, who had returned from UK, was admitted at a hospital in New Delhi from March 19 with symptoms of the novel coronavirus and tested positive on March 20.

They travelled from Sealdah to Tehatta in a passenger train in an unreserved compartment. After de-boarding from the train, they took an auto-rickshaw. Over the next two-three days, they also socialised and went to the local markets.

“They have come in contact with so many people that it is extremely difficult to track all of them,” said Asit Kumar Dian, chief medical officer of health, Nadia district.

The five people were at their relative’s place in Tehatta between March 20 and 24, until being hospitalised after reporting symptoms.

“We are appealing to people to voluntarily tell us if they have come in contact with any of these five,” Dian said.

A number of their relatives living at Tehatta have been isolated and their blood samples have been sent for tests. The results are awaited.

A senior health department staff said many of their neighbours at Tehatta took the nine-month-old baby in their lap.

Ajay Chakraborty, director of health services, expressed his grievances at not being informed by the Delhi Police about the 29-year-old’s violation of quarantine.

“Delhi should have informed us. The woman was asked to stay in isolation and the administration in Delhi must have had all the information related to her. How could she come here without those responsible for her whereabouts knowing anything?” Chakraborty asked.