First COVID case in Tripura: Locality reels under panic, 8 TSR Jawans in Isolation

Simmering tension is brewing in the Udaipur sub-division of Tripura after one woman of Gakulnagar located in the peripheries of the city of Udaipur tested positive to the COVID-19. 

However, district administration swung into action immediately after receiving the report and shifted several people into facility quarantine who came in direct contact of the contagion as a precautionary measure to break the chain. 

Speaking to this newsman District Magistrate TK Debnath said, the area where the case has been reported, decided into two categories. Strict restrictions have been imposed on venturing out of one’s home since the entire region becomes vulnerable in the face of the disease. In the core area, people who are living within the one-kilometer periphery of her residence at Gokulnagar were asked not to come out of their houses, he added. 

“No one will be allowed to come out of their homes in the periphery of 1km of the concerned woman’s house. The administration has taken necessary steps to this end”, Debnath said.

He said, in case of any requirement the residents in the core area could contact the police or civil administration and necessary steps than would be taken.

Moreover, people living within the 3-km periphery of the woman’s house were also barred from coming out of their houses except for emergency purposes.

TK Debnath giving details of the patient’s travel history told media that the driver of the vehicle in which concerned woman traveled to GB Hospital had been taken to ‘main’ quarantine facility – and also, out of the three family members of the woman, one child (7 years) had been put into ‘main’ quarantine, so far.

 “As many as 29 locals have been put into institutional quarantine”, Debnath said.

It was learned that the patient went to Guwahati with seven other members of the family and visited the Kamakhya temple there. They stayed at Sukhamani Hotel at Paltan Bazar (Room 304 and 307) and after sights seeing returned to the state on March 19. She also visited Jirania using the local bus. She had also attended OPD in District hospital in Gomati and had also gone to ILS from where she was referred to GB. However, in ILS she was checked before entering into the building, said a statement from the ILS.  

The DM has also urged NGOs and all the benevolent persons or organizations to refrain from directly involved in distribution of relief materials to needy people.

He said, “Administration will shoulder the responsibility of distribution while willing NGOs, organizations, and individuals should give the relief items to the administration. In view of the emerging situation, the NGOs and others who wanted to help should not go into open and connect with people. 

Meanwhile, COVID-19 affected woman’s son-in-law – a TSR jawan had been taken to Amarpur Hospital last night and lodged into quarantine. Seven other Jawans had been also shifted to quarantine at Amarpur Duluma TSR camp quarantine cell. All these eight jawans of TSR 5 Battalion were deployed at Ampinagar.

Battalion sources said Dipak Karmakar along with his wife was with his mother during her Assam tour. Last night, officers of TSR battalion 5 went to the TSR camp and picked up Dipak to send him to Amarpur Hospital quarantine cell. Later, Battalion commandant HS Darlong shifted seven other jawans of the same camp who shared the room with Dipak Karmakar to quarantine cell of battalion’s hospital.

“All of these eight jawans will be under medical surveillance and undergo tests for Covid19. Authority has taken all essential steps for the safety of jawans and prevent transmission of the virus”, Battalion sources said.