VISAKHAPATNAM: Residents of Gajuwaka here were in for a shock on Monday, when a meat-shop owner in the locality tested positive for coronavirus. He had worked at the store for three days recently, including Sunday.
On hearing that his samples tested positive, a battery of GVMC officials accompanied by the police descended on his residence on the morning and took him and 12 of his contacts, including two relatives, to the hospital. The infectee’s samples were collected on April 2, but he was sent home as he didn’t show any symptoms.
However, there are conflicting reports on how he went to Chest Hospital, where his samples were collected.
Gajuwaka zonal commissioner Sridhar said a COVID team took him to the hospital after an infectee from Poorna Market told them the meat-shop owner was among eight people he stayed with at a mosque in Parawada.
The team took all eight of them to the hospital on April 2, and their samples were collected. The meat-shop owner was then allowed to go home. All the others have tested negative for coronavirus.
Visakhapatnam City Commissioner of Police RK Meena said the infectee and his mother had visited Chest Hospital on April 2 as his mother had a chest disease. “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,” Meena said.
He added that the police and GVMC teams are conducting a survey to identify the infectee’s primary and secondary contacts and those who have symptoms of COVID-19. By Tuesday morning, all contacts will be traced, Meena said, adding that all roads leading to the high-risk zone were barricaded to restrict the movement of people.
The man from Kunchumamba Colony in Gajuwaka had travelled to Srikalahasti on March 14 and returned on March 16. Later, he went to Parawada, where he stayed along with eight others at a mosque before returning to Gajuwaka on March 30. It is still not known how many people he may have come in contact with while selling meat for three days.
Meanwhile, GVMC officials deployed tankers to spray sodium hypochloride solution in the high-risk zone. Bleaching powder was also sprayed. 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 houses except for emergencies, and said only one member per family should go to buy essential supplies.