Positive case from Anantnag may turn out to be a super spreader

He visited two hospitals, a private clinic, and worked at a baker’s shop recently

Positive case from Anantnag may turn out to be a super spreader

Anantnag: The second Covid-19 positive case in Anantnag district, detected on Tuesday, might turn out to be a super spreader as the man had visited at least two hospitals, a private clinic, and many other places in the district in the last ten days, apart from working at a baker’s shop in main town Anantnag.

The 41-year-old man from Shangus area of Anantnag district, sources in the health department told Kashmir Reader, is adamant that he had no contact with a Covid-19 patient or travel history to anywhere.

“However, we checked his recent contact history and we came to know that he worked at a baker’s shop in Sarnal where he came in contact with a recently detected positive case from Kulgam district,” a highly placed health official told Kashmir Reader, requesting anonymity.

All members of the baker’s family in Sarnal were quarantined in Pahalgam soon after the man from Kulgam was tested positive. The baker’s family are in-laws of the Kulgam man.

“The man from Shangus, who worked at the baker’s, however went back to his home, undetected, and continued to live with his family,” sources in the health department said, adding, “He has in the last ten days travelled far and wide in Anantnag district.”

The man, some days back, complained of diarrhoea. He visited a local hospital in Nowgam area of Anantnag district where he was administered with dextrose.

“Later, he visited a private doctor’s clinic and the Government Medical College in Anantnag for treatment of his diarrhoea. At the GMC he got an ultrasound done as well,” a doctor at GMC Anantnag told Kashmir Reader.

Finally, when his diarrhoea could not be cured, his samples were taken. He tested positive at the virology lab in Srinagar’s CD Hospital.

Doctors and health officials in Anantnag worry that he might be the single reason for an upward tick in Anantnag’s tally of positive patients due to sheer callousness on his part.

Since Wednesday, many of his contacts have been quarantined and the area where he comes from has been declared a red-zone. The doctors, however, feel that the damage might have already been done.

“Imagine the number of people he must have come in contact with at the two hospitals he visited, at the private clinic and at the baker’s shop he worked at. It can spell doom for our district,” a doctor working in Nowgam area of Anantnag district said.

A worried district administration is now tracing his contacts on a war-footing basis.

“We have quarantined as many as we could find of his contacts. The fact that this man has been roaming around and even went fishing last week makes it extremely difficult to track down all his contact history,” an official in the district administration said.

Earlier, a positive case was reported from Dooru area of Anantnag district, following which his native place was declared as a red-zone as well.

For now, the tally in the district remains at two, but the local people have their fingers crossed.

“We have collected samples from many of his contacts and it will be a matter to watch out for. Only after that we can say whether he has been a super spreader or not,” Dr Peer Farhat, Nodal Officer for COVID-19 in Anantnag, told Kashmir Reader.

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