About 50 migrants who returned to Basti district from Pune last week tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday. The migrant workers had been quarantined at the district medical college and Saral College after they reached Basti on May 16.
District Magistrate Ashutosh Niranjan has confirmed the figures. This took the tally of returning migrants testing positive in the state to reached 109. Earlier, 12 migrants were found infected with COVID-19 each in Lucknow and Basti district.
Health Department officials are said to be worried about an imminent spike in cases with the inflow of lakhs of migrants from other states.
Chief Medical Officer (Lucknow), Dr Narendra Agarwal, said the cases may rise soon as it is very difficult to find out the contact history of all the migrant workers who are returning home, mostly villages, following the months-long nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.
So far, the maximum number of migrants testing positive for COVID19 are from Basti region. Besides, Pratapgarh has seen 15 such cases, Banda – 10; Sitapur -- five; Amethi, Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Dehat, and Unnao – four; Prayagraj, Ballia, Gonda, and Kushinagar -- three, Chitrakoot, and Raebareli -- two.
Earlier speaking on the issue of returning migrants becoming new super spreaders, Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad had said surveillance committees in rural and urban areas were working round-the-clock to keep a strict vigil on people coming from outside the state.
He, however, had said it would be too early to say anything on the figures of the migrants testing positive.
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