The 49-year-old COVID-19 patient who died at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad on Wednesday was given a quiet burial in the small hours of Thursday at the burial ground in Nirmal district headquarter town, from where he hailed.
The ambulance carrying the body reached the town from Hyderabad around 4 am and the burial took place with only a couple of close relatives, municipal workers and other officials in attendance after the necessary religious rites were performed.
Prohibitory orders imposed
Nirmal district authorities swung into action to control any further spread of the COVID-19 infection by cordoning off the Zohranagar locality early in the day. Prohibitory orders were imposed in the locality to restrict people from coming out of their homes.
Collector Md. Musharraf Ali Faruqui toured the area on foot making announcements on restrictions on the movement of people. He appealed to locals not to venture out of their homes, and assured them that all essentials, including rations and vegetables will be supplied at their doorsteps.
According to District Medical and Health Officer Dr. Vasanth, an area of one-kilometre radius in and around Zohranagar, and a three kilometre buffer area was disinfected using fire tenders. “The one km radius area is where the patient might have come in personal contact with people,” he said.
20 teams of five on the job
All the homes in the locality have been closed and a house-to-house survey was underway to identify people who may have come in contact with the patient. Tests for COVID-19 infection are being conducted. As many as 20 teams of five members each are executing this task, according to Dr. Vasanth.
The immediate family of the deceased as well as those staying in the rented portions of the house will be tested and quarantined. Besides, others from the buffer area will also be screened and quarantined, officials said.
