Strange case: Constable who was on leave tests positive, while 22 fellow cops deputed to Hongasandra ‘hotspot’ test negative — but are now quarantined
BENGALURU:
Following the second case of a Karnataka policeman testing positive for Covid-19, around 60 of his contacts, including 22 colleagues, have been quarantined. Further, the area around his house in Mico Layout is to be sealed as a containment zone.
The constable was on leave for more than 20 days after he met with an accident. Attached to the Begur police station, the 40-year-old has been named Patient 650, and does not have any kind of travel history.
Sources said he was admitted to Sagar Hospital on Bannerghatta Road and may have picked up the infection from there. Now, the entire hospital is under the scanner. The administration is checking all possibilities and all SARI cases admitted to the hospital over the last one month.
As per a highly-placed source, the constable was at home and his colleagues were deputed to the ‘hotspot’ Hongasandra ward — where more than 30 positive cases have been reported.
“The cop was at home but was regularly meeting his fellow cops friends after they returned from ‘hotspot’ duty. They all use to sit and chat for a long time,” a source said.
A few days back, the constables posted at the Hongasandra ‘hotspot’ had visited a hospital to get their swab samples checked, and the now-infected cop had accompanied them. “The cop had gone in his own car and a fellow cop was in the car. Samples of all the policemen who were deputed at Hongasandra were collected and the now-infected cop also gave his sample. Shockingly, all the cops who were on duty at Hongasandra tested negative while he was found positive, despite the fact that he was on leave,” the source added.
Sagar Hospital under scanner
The source said the constable was admitted at Sagar Hospital for a few days. “We are examining whether he got infected at the hospital. We are trying to trace all his contacts, and meanwhile we have asked the hospital authorities to share details of all the SARI cases reported there in the last few months.”
38 family members quarantined
Sources also said that the cop’s positive report has triggered panic as 13 close family members staying with him are at high risk. The administration has quarantined all his family members.
Despite being on leave, on Monday he had visited Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district for a family function. “All other 25 family contacts in Kollegal are now also under quarantine, ” an officer added.
First infected cop
The first Covid-19 case in the Karnataka police department was of a constable attached to the Mudol police station in Bagalkot.
