On Monday, seven residents of Padarayanapura residents tested positive for the COVID-19. The seven people were neither the contacts of a COVID-19 positive nor stepped out of their houses. This development has made the authorities to consider the possibility of community transmission in the ward.
The Padarayanapur ward was sealed a month ago following multiple clusters of infections. The ward has reported 47 positive cases so far out of which 16 of them are primary contacts and 11 are secondary contacts. The seven patients were tested positive during random testing in the ward. The contact tracing is underway for 12 patients. The remaining patients were infected from a fever clinic. A senior BBMP official spoke to the media and said,
“We have sent throat swab samples of 216 residents chosen randomly and seven of them have turned out positive. Not all results have come. The positives are likely to increase. Since community spread is suspected, we are intensifying the random sampling.”
The health commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey informed that the establishment is working with the health experts to analyze the situation in the Padarayanapura ward and ensure that the disease is contained. Earlier in the week, the medical education minister K Sudhakar had visited the Padarayanapura ward and directed authorities to test all the residents in the ward.
Officials play down the possibility of Community Transmission
Community transmission is the third stage of the pandemic where the source of the infection cannot be traced. When the Join Secretary of the Union Health Ministry Lav Agarwal was asked about the community transmission in India, he said,
“Some clusters have been found (in the country), and in some particular locations relatively large outbreaks have also been noticed.”
Random testing in the Padarayanapura ward has been going on since April 28th. The first sample tested was of a 48-year-old who showed no symptoms at all. The BBMP health official further said,
“All the seven people who tested positive during the random sample collective drive said they have neither met any known COVID-19 patient or contact, not stepped out of their homes during the lockdown. Residents are allowed to step out of their homes only to buy vegetables and rations. We suspect it is during these outings that the virus is spreading.”
Source: The Times of India
