A coronavirus positive cable operator from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur, who became the sole reason for a massive outbreak of coronavirus cases in Narasaraopet, Guntur, infecting over 50 people of the town, had contracted the virus from a Tablighi Jamaat member.
Guntur Rural SP Ch Vijaya Rao who had formed a special team to investigate how the 45-year-old coronavirus positive cable operator who died on April 10, contracted the virus, revealed that the deceased had contracted the infection from a 54-year-old man of Guntur who attended Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, reports The New Indian Express.
Cable operator visited same tea stall as the Tablighi Jamaat attendee
According to the report, during the inquiry, it was revealed that 13 persons of Guntur attended Tablighi Jamaat. The seventh among them visited Narasaraopet on March 20 to see his parents, who reside at Shalem Nagar. On his way to his parents’ house, the Delhi returnee had a cup of tea at a stall at the bus stand centre. At the same time, the cable operator also visited the stall and ordered a cup of tea. The duo stayed at the stall for sometime when the cable operator might have contracted the virus from the Delhi returnee.
The cable operator who was a Tuberculosis (TB) patient, got treatment at Narasaraopet government hospital. On April 6, the doctors referred him to Guntur Fever Hospital for treatment suspecting that he had developed Covid-19 symptoms. He was admitted to Fever Hospital on April 9 and later died. He was declared coronavirus positive on April 10.
Phone tracing and search
As part of the inquiry, the police collected call data of mobile phones of several Tablighi Jamaat attendees and their contacts. They also tracked the location of mobile phones of the Markaz attendee and the cable operator to establish their presence at the tea stall at the bus stand centre in Narasaraopet at the same time.
The police gathered information about the duo after showing the photos of the Delhi returnee and the cable operator to a worker at the stall to ascertain the fact that he served tea to them or not. The worker at the tea stall recognised the duo to whom he had served tea. Based on the information provided by the worker, the police visited NRI hospital where the Delhi returnee is undergoing treatment. When questioned he agreed to the fact that he visited Narasaraopet on March 20.
As the Jamaati tested negative after treatment, he was discharged from hospital on Thursday.
Deceased cable operator infects over 50 people
The deceased cable operator who had contracted the infection from the 54-year-old Tablighi ultimately became a super-spreader of the virus infecting more than 50 people in his hometown, Guntur. Initially, five family members of the cable operator and a home guard who is his close friend contracted coronavirus. His family members, in turn, spread the virus to another 34 persons, while the home guard who tested positive for the pathogen, infected 18 persons, including five doctors, as per the NIE report.
Role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus
The Tablighi Jamaat fiasco, which took place in the second week of March 2020. was undoubtedly the biggest setback to India’s fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus. The mass gathering at the Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi, and the subsequent transport of the virus through carriers across the length and breadth of India has jeopardised greatly the safety and health of this country.
