Akola Covid patient, close contacts booked for refusing hospitalization, tests

Nagpur: The Akola district health administration has booked a 36-year-old Covid-19 positive patient from Sindhi camp area, a woman and 2 others from his close contacts for not cooperating with authorities in containment measures.
This is the first time a Covid-19 positive patient and close contacts have been booked in Vidarbha for not going to the Covid hospital and refusing to get tested.Earlier, several persons have been booked in Maharashtra for violating lockdown rules and spreading fake news.
“After testing positive for Covid-19, this patient refused to get admitted in hospital. He was insisting on home isolation while the close contacts were not ready to give samples for tests. As they had planned to leave Akola and stay at some relative’s place in other towns, we had to book them under relevant sections,” said resident deputy collector of Akola, Sanjay Khadse.
“There is no other option but to book such patients and their relatives because cases in Akola are increasing every day and we can’t take any risk,” he said.
Offence has been registered under sections 269, 271,188 of IPC and sub-section 3 of Epidemic Act and sub section 51B of Disaster Management Act.
“We have been constantly appealing to people to cooperate. Positive patients, even if asymptomatic, need to get examined at hospitals,” said Khadse.
After check-up at hospitals, administration shifts asymptomatic patients to Covid Care Centre (CCC) in Akola. Staying here is must as home isolation facility has not been implemented in Vidarbha so far.
Akola has registered 1,859 Covid-19 cases till date. Of them, 1,464 have already recovered and discharged. Currently, 303 patients are under treatment in hospitals as well as at CCC. With 92 deaths, Akola has the highest mortality rate in Vidarbha.
According to authorities, many suspects leave Akola and travel to some other town, village to avoid getting tested.
Some of them develop symptoms later and test positive at the respective places. Many patients in Yavatmal, Nagpur and Amravati districts are natives of Akola.
Complete lockdown next week
Considering the grave situation and to avoid migration of suspects, guardian minister Bachchu Kadu has instructed authorities to announce complete lockdown next week on July 18, 19 and 20. The lockdown will be on the lines of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. District administration will announce lockdown rules soon.