Covid-free Sahibganj wary as migrants return in large numbers

Ranchi: The last of the 24 districts in Jharkhand without a single Covid-19 case so far, Sahibganj is on tenterhooks as a large number of migrants from across the country are reaching their home in the district which has a population of 14 lakh and shares its administrative borders with Bihar and West Bengal. Of the 280 cases Covid cases recorded in Jharkhand between May 5 and May 26, migrants accounts for 250, which is close to 90%.

Until last week, Khunti and Pakur were green zones along with Sahibganj. But since May 24, the situation changed for Pakur after it reported four positive cases. Khunti entered Jharkhand’s Covid map on Monday after a migrant returning from Mumbai tested positive for the new virus.

As per estimates, close to 27,000 migrants have returned to their homes in Sahibganj since May 1. Most have arrived from Covid-19 hotspots such as Mumbai (Maharashtra), Jalandhar (Punjab), Surat and Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Bengaluru (Karnataka). Thousands more are expected to arrive in the coming days as Shramik special trains keep reaching various parts of Jharkhand.

The district’s health machinery has collected a little over 1,200 samples for tests. Besides sending samples to laboratories in Ranchi’s Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences and Pataliputra Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) in Dhanbad, a recently installed Trunat machine is catering to the district’s testing needs.

The district has set up more than 70 government quarantine centres where around 3,500 people are currently lodged. “More than 12,000 people are in home quarantine,” deputy commissioner Varun Ranjan told TOI.

After conducting door to door screening of 14 lakh people across nine blocks four times since March 22, the administration claimed it is certain that a positive case, if any, will come from migrants. “To step up our vigil, 1,688 surveillance teams have been deployed on the ground for tracking arriving migrants. Social policing teams have also been mobilized and they have been asked to urge people to stay indoors and venture out only if necessary,” Ranjan added.

Most recently, the administration had a scare after a 22-year-old woman from Rajmahal, who tested positive at a private health facility in New Delhi, embarked for Jharkhand in a cab along with her husband and child. Upon being informed by her family members, district officials tracked down her location in Bihar’s Buxar, where the family was put into quarantine. The woman tested positive in a fresh test conducted in Bihar, but her husband and child tested negative.