A 26-year-old Coimbatore girl who became the seventh person to test positive for the coronavirus in Tamil Nadu on Sunday had used several modes of public transport before she was finally quarantined. According to reports, the girl, who was studying in Spain, had reached Coimbatore via New Delhi and Bengaluru.
She had been quarantined at Coimbatore’s ESIC hospital since March 18 after she voluntarily reached the hospital for testing. One of her friends in Spain had tested positive for COVID-19.
According to reports, she boarded a flight from Spain, landed in New Delhi on March 13 and took a flight to Bengaluru on March 15 and reached the city same day. She was asymptomatic when she was screened for COVID-19 at the Bengaluru airport. She then took the Yeshvantpur-Kannur Express on March 16 from Bengaluru and reached Coimbatore the next day. The train runs between Bengaluru and Kannur in Kerala and also touches several districts in Tamil Nadu.
While efforts are on to trace all those who came in contact with her, other state governments have also been alerted about the girl’s travel details.
The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 415 on Monday, with the Centre calling for lockdown in 75 districts across the country on Sunday. The districts where lockdown was announced are from states that include Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It was decided to suspend all train services till March 31, including suburban rail services. However, goods trains are exempted. All metro rail services were also suspended till March 31.
The decisions have been taken at a high-level meeting attended by chief secretaries of all states and the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the prime minister. Interstate bus services have also been suspended till March 31.
