TRUCKER, PVT FIRM STAFFER FOUND INFECTED IN PANCHKULA

PANCHKULA : A truck driver who recently visited Shimla, and a private firm employee who had returned to work in Baddi after the lockdown relaxations, are the latest Covid-19 positive patients in Panchkula district.

So far, 22 cases have been confirmed, of which 18 patients have been discharged from the hospital, one of them, an 80-year-old, Tablighi Jamaat member, on Sunday.

Panchkula civil surgeon Dr Jasjeet Kaur said a 33-year-old man, resident of Majri village near Sector 1, and a 44-year-old male resident of Sector 19, were found positive for coronavirus on Sunday. She said the men were admitted in civil hospital, Sector 6, and health teams were carrying out their contact tracing.

The 33-year-old man was tested during random sampling of 10 drivers of the Majri Chowk Truck Operators Union on May 6. The other drivers are negative.

District Covid-19 nodal officer Dr Rajiv Narwal said the driver had gone to an area near Shimla on May 3 to unload some stock at a HPMC godown and returned thereafter. His family members will be tested, he added.

The private company employee had travelled to work with 14 other employees, 12 from Panchkula and two from Zirakpur, in a company bus. “The firm had arranged for a hotel for its employees. The positive man stayed there for few days before returning back on May 5 as he felt sick,” he said. Eight of his family contacts have been identified. The employees who travelled with him are being traced.