Nanjangud mystery: Karnataka government orders probe

The State government on Friday ordered a probe into the spread of the coronavirus in Mysuru's Nanjangud, which has emerged as a mysterious cluster involving a pharmaceutical company.

In an order, Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar gave IAS officer Harsh Gupta one week to submit a report. Gupta is currently the nodal officer for Covid-19 containment in the Mysuru district.

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Till date, Mysuru has 88 Covid-19 positive cases, 73 of which are linked to Jubilant Generics, promoted by Noida-based Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd.

"Despite stringent measures, the main reason for Mysuru district to emerge as a hotspot (for Covid-19) is the Jubilant factory in Nanjangud," Bhaskar said in his order.

The probe will look into the origins of the disease in the town and the causes for the same. The role of the factory and others in the spread of the pandemic will also be enquired into, according to the order.

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The first Covid-19 positive case at the Nanjangud plant was Patient-52, a 35-year old. Soon after, 24 employees of the company and their relatives tested positive for the virus and the number increased subsequently. Jubilant Generic was recently declared a Covid-19 hotspot.

The state government, which is trying to ascertain the source of the virus, had sought details of the foreign nationals who visited the factory before Covid-19 cases were reported.

Adding to the mystery was the company clarifying that it neither had any of its employees travel abroad in the last six months nor did the raw material samples from the plant test positive for Covid-19.