Two pilgrims test positive for COVID-19

They were among 127 people who visited Varanasi

21/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Two women, who were among a group of 127 people who recently went to Varanasi on a pilgrimage, have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19. The pilgrims — mostly senior citizens — from Tamil Nadu were quarantined soon after arriving in Tiruvallur district from Uttar Pradesh last Friday.

“Since the pilgrims had stayed in Uttar Pradesh for over a month and had travelled through many States to reach Tamil Nadu, medical teams took samples of all 127 pilgrims. Two women have now tested positive. Some more results are awaited,” a senior State government official told The Hindu on Monday.

Campus isolated

The two women were shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in Chennai. The test results of the 125 other pilgrims were awaited. Officials of the Tiruvallur district administration and the police were monitoring the health status of the pilgrims, the official said.

The campus housing the pilgrims was isolated early on Monday and health workers disinfected the premises as per protocol. Since the women who had tested positive had travelled in buses with the other pilgrims, the latter would be subjected to additional tests. “Many of them have pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, etc. Health officials are closely monitoring their health,” the official said.

The pilgrims, hailing from 9 districts, including Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchi and Salem, had visited Uttar Pradesh in February. They were stranded in Varanasi since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 22. A couple of days later, the first phase of the nationwide lockdown began, confining the pilgrims to the quarantine camps in Varanasi. After the government announced an extension of the lockdown, they made an appeal to the local authorities to help them get back home, police sources said.

The pilgrims from Tamil Nadu were among hundreds from across the country who were stranded in Varanasi in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The authorities arranged 22 special buses to transport them to their respective States.