PANJIM: A COVID-19 patient who has gone missing and is reportedly from Delhi, has baffled the Goa government and a massive manhunt has been launched to trace his whereabouts. The government has admitted they have no clue of his true identity and location after he submitted an incomplete self-declaration form at the time of undergoing a test for COVID-19 earlier this week.
“We assume that a person gives us authenticated information in the self-declaration form wherein we quote all the legal provisions. Despite this, there is one case, where the person (referring to the vendor from Panjim market) gave a very vague address and when we found it was not a valid address, the police and the authorities began to track his details,” Health Secretary Nila Mohanan said, addressing the media on Thursday.
The man, who gave the authorities a slip soon after his test results showed him positive for the infection, is said to be an “officially missing person” as per Delhi Police. “The police conducted his call tracing through which they were informed by Delhi police that he is officially a missing person. So we assume he is a resident of Delhi. The police and authorities are on the job to track him down,” she added.
In one lead, the unidentified man mentioned in the self-declaration form that he travelled to Goa via train from Delhi. “This establishes he entered Goa from outside,” the Health Secretary said.
On being asked about the source of infection, Mohanan admitted they have no clue about the man and appealed to the people to help the authorities trace him. “We don’t know who this person is. If someone knows him, please inform us. It will help us,” she said. Mohanan also said that the Panjim link in this particular case is not ascertained.
In connection with three cases – all from one family – detected in Chimbel, the Health Secretary allayed apprehensions that the infected persons are connected with the Panjim market. The first case is that of a security guard with the Urban Health Centre at Vasco, through whom the other two family members have contracted the infection. She said that nearly 61 samples were taken for testing.
Since the health staff, working in the COVID-19 hospitals, facilities, hail from different parts of the State, the cases have seen a rise. Mohanan said that to curb these cases, the health staff will be kept in government-requisitioned accommodation/facilities and undergo tests and quarantine period only after which they will be allowed to go home.
Commenting on the positive case in Taleigao, she said that the man was undergoing treatment in the GMC. He was found negative in the TrueNat test but a repeat test showed him positive for the virus. To trace the source of infection, a community testing was carried out in Taleigao and some volunteered to opt for the test. The results of 90 swab samples of the village have come negative. More locals turned out on their own to undergo the test in Taleigao.
Meanwhile, two Shramik Express trains are scheduled for stranded migrants to take them to destinations in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha on Friday.
Since April 29, a total of 24,071 have arrived in Goa while 1.13 lakh people have left the State. Nearly 9,375 have been fined for spitting in public places while 24,499 have been fined for not wearing masks.