Hyderabad: Despite the mandatory quarantine norm issued this week for people flying into Delhi from the UK, a 47-year-old woman who tested Covid-positive at the Delhi airport, managed to leave the national capital and travel to Andhra Pradesh via train.
Mary Winfred Ann Parrie, a native of Andhra Pradesh, boarded the New Delhi-Visakhapatnam express and reached Rajahmundry in East Godavari district late Wednesday. She is currently under quarantine at Rajahmundry Government Hospital.
The Delhi government issued the new quarantine guidelines Tuesday to contain a possible spread of a new mutant strain of the novel coronavirus that emerged in Britain. India has also suspended all flights to and from the UK till 31 December.
Andhra health department officials told ThePrint the woman was asymptomatic and was accompanied by her 22-year old son, who went to Delhi to pick her up.
The woman’s samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, to check if she is carrying the new strain of Covid-19.
Rajahmundry health authorities and police officials said Delhi airport officials alerted the Andhra health department Wednesday about the woman travelling to Andhra Pradesh by train.
Following this, East Godavari administration was alerted since she was a native of Rajahmundry. The Railway Police was also alerted. Authorities were unable to contact the woman since her phone was switched off throughout the journey, which made it difficult to stop her midway, said health department officials.
They further said the woman claimed she was asked to go home by Delhi authorities. Andhra health officials are checking with Delhi to ascertain her claims.
“She was traced in the train and kept in isolation… she travelled in an AC first coach, so interaction with others could have been minimal. Her samples have been sent to NIV, Pune, (from Delhi). Waiting for a test result from Delhi to confirm whether it was a new strain (of Covid) or not,” Andhra Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar told ThePrint.
Also read: Delhi to put passengers from UK in compulsory quarantine as it screens for new Covid strain
‘She claims she was asked to go back home’
The woman arrived at Delhi airport on the night of 21 December, where she was subjected to a Rapid Antigen test, and found to be positive. She was then sent to Safdarjung hospital in Delhi and an RT-PCR test was also conducted on her, according to Andhra health officials.
“Apparently, the Safdarjung hospital authorities asked her to be under home isolation because she is asymptomatic. Since she did not know anyone in Delhi or have a place to stay, she boarded the train,” a health official, requesting anonymity, told ThePrint.
When the woman and her son reached Rajahmundry, they were immediately taken to the local government hospital and put under quarantine. They were again tested for Covid, and the woman’s son turned out to be negative.
“She claims that she was asked to go (back home in Andhra Pradesh). It is still unclear if she was told that she tested positive and has to stay in institutional quarantine. We are checking with teams in Delhi as to what exactly could have happened to ascertain her claims,” East Godavari district coordinator for health services, Dr T. Ramesh Kishore, told ThePrint.
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