Two women, who were among 127 people who went on a pilgrimage to Varanasi, have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. The pilgrims, mostly senior citizens, from Tamil Nadu were quarantined soon after they arrived in Tiruvallur district in three buses from Uttar Pradesh last Friday.
"Since the pilgrims stayed in Uttar Pradesh for over a month and travelled through many states to reach Tamil Nadu, medical teams took samples of all the 127 pilgrims to rule out the possibility of the infection. Two women have now tested positive for the Coronavirus. Some more results are awaited," a senior official in the State government told The Hindu on Monday.
Campus isolated
The campus housing the pilgrims was isolated early on Monday and health workers launched the safety protocol by disinfecting the premises. Since the women travelled in buses along with others, the tests would be repeated on the others too. "Many of them have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension etc. Health officials are closely monitoring their health condition," the official said.
The pilgrims belonging to nine districts, including Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchi and Salem, had gone to Uttar Pradesh in February. They were stranded in Varanasi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced "Janata Curfew" on March 22.
A couple of days later, the first phase of nationwide lockdown commenced from March 24 midnight for 21 days confining them to the quarantine camps in Varanasi. After the lockdown got extended till May 3, they made an appeal to the local authorities to assist them in reaching home, police sources said.
The pilgrims from Tamil Nadu were among hundreds of others from across India who were stranded in Varanasi due to COVID-19. The local authorities arranged 22 special buses to transport them to their respective States.
