If those who returned from the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi not coming forward voluntarily to disclose their travel details was not enough, the authorities here are facing a new problem.
It has become a herculean task for the police and medical teams to find out the secondary contacts of these COVID-19 positive patients.
So far, the authorities have identified as many as 21 persons, who had attended the Markaz event and returned to their native places in Sangareddy, Angadipeet, Zaheerabad and Kondapur, among others. Out of them, six were found positive and shifted to Gandhi Hospital. Their family members have been put in isolation at Narayana College in Patancheru mandal.
As the first contacts were already identified and kept in isolation, officials are now trying to get the information about secondary contacts and where all they had travelled. But, these people are not coming forward to divulge details stating they had not moved anywhere.
“A COVID-19 positive patient from Zaheerabad had visited Bidar in Karnataka and met several people, but hid this information from us. We have used modern technology and our sources to ascertain the facts and track the secondary contacts,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity.
“We are checking with local religious leaders and villagers about the movement of secondary contacts. CCTVs and travel logs are helping us in this. We have checked the train tickets and reservation charts,” said the officer. About 70 secondary contacts have been identified so far. The number may double by the time the final list would be ready.
However, he added, “We have made efforts in identifying the people who attended the meet. At least two persons from Sadashivapet are still in Delhi quarantine.”
