Scare in Uttar Pradesh after first case of COVID-19 detected in migrant workers

A migrant worker from Bihar, who had been quarantined in Uttar Pradesh along with thousands of others, who had migrated from Delhi, Noida, Gujarat, Mumbai and other places after the lockdown, tested positive for coronavirus setting off alarm bells in the authorities here.

The 18-year old migrant worker, who hailed from Katihar in Bihar, had been living at the quarantine centre at Bhadohi town, about 250 kilometres from here, along with over one hundred other migrant workers.

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According to the officials in Bhadohi, the migrant worker was shifted to the isolation ward at the district hospital in the neighbouring Mirzapur district after being found infected with the virus on Saturday.

The youth was part of a group of 32 migrant workers, who were apprehended from the near a level crossing in Bhadohi on March 31. All of them worked at a plastic factory in Delhi and were walking along the railway tracks to reach their destination in Bihar.

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The officials said that it was the first case of COVID-19 among the migrant workers and that it was a worrying sign. The officials have sent swabs of 80 other persons, who had also been living at the quarantine centre, for testing.

Around two lakh migrant workers and their families, who included both residents of the state and Bihar, had arrived in different parts in the state after the 21-day lockdown was declared.

While many of them succeeded in reaching their homes in UP, a large number of others were stopped by the police and were put up at temporary camps and quarantine centres.