Cabbie flees Bengaluru after he finds rider tested positive

BENGALURU: A cab driver who ferried a man from the Kempegowda International Airport to Majestic on March 13 is a huge cause of concern. All because he fled to his home town in Tamil Nadu after he learnt that his passenger, who had returned from Spain, tested positive for Covid-19.
Satish (name changed) has been a cabbie in Bengaluru for 15 years. For a couple of years, he started working with a cab aggregator.He says drivers at high risk as they handle luggage of travellers and they're less than 6 feet from them in the cab.
Five days later after that trip, he got a call from the health & family welfare department authorities. He was shocked to hear that his passenger had tested positive. "I was very scared when I got that call and told I was his primary contact. I was asked to immediately wash the car. They asked me if I had developed a fever or cold. So far I haven't had any symptoms, but I've been watchful. I was worried about being in Bengaluru and left for my home town with two relatives who are also cab drivers," said the driver who stayed near Bhuvaneshwari Nagar.
"Given the fear of Covid-19, many cab drivers now wear masks. That's not convenient. We have even stopped talking to customers. I don't remember talking to him," Satish told STOI from his village in Jolarpet, Tamil Nadu.
He said farming is better than driving a car in a city where poor persons get diseases from the rich. "We come to Bengaluru to earn money, not to get some disease. I'm glad I left earlier. After this lockdown, we couldn't have lived in Bengaluru," he added.
The health department knows about him leaving the city when he should have been under strict home isolation. "Now, we can't do much. He must follow strict home isolation for 14 days. If there are any symptoms, he should call a helpline in Tamil Nadu and rush to the nearest hospital," said a senior health officer.