Assam man who fled Kerala quarantine held
The Assam man who fled from quarantine in Kerala and was travelling home by train was tracked down at New Bongaigaon railway station in the state in a joint operation by the police and Indian railways. He was sent into isolation ward of railway hospital here.
The man, who hails from Morigaon district, was travelling in Kanchanjunga Express from West Bengal.
Pointing out that the man worked at a restaurant in Kozhikode where a coronavirus patient, back
Union minister Harsh Vardhan chairs a high level meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM) to discuss on novel coronavirus in New Delhi on Thursday.
from Dubai, had eaten food before he was tested positive for coronavirus, the police said that all employees of the restaurant were asked to be on home quarantine three employees including the man Assam.
Along with him two other suspected coronavirus but left, from infected men , who was quarantined by Kerala health authorities at a hotel in Kozikhode, have fled from the quarantine facility on March 16. They are from Odisha and West Bengal.
The health official, who counselled the man after he was caught, however, said that the man has not tested positive so far. The train, coach in which the man travelled has been sanitised but other passengers have not been quarantined. His sample has been collected and sent for testing once again, sources said.
The Kerala police had contacted Assam police for help to trace the man, saying he could pose serious health risks. The police also tracked his cell phone and found that he was on the move with his location changing rapidly.
Police guessed he was on a train since hundreds of migrants are going back to their states from Kerala. All police stations on his route were also alerted and, finally, he was tracked down, police said.
Meanwhile, the Assam government has ordered the closure of all liquor bars, night clubs, beauty parlours and salons in the state as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus.