Pilbhit Group Returning From Mecca Erases ‘Home Quarantine’ Stamp At Mumbai, Takes Train, 2 Members Test + For Covid-19

The number of positive Covid-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh rose to 38 on Wednesday (Mar 25) as one more person in Pilibhit tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection.

IThe latest patient is the 33-year-old son of a 73-year-old woman who was tested positive on Monday. Both had returned after performing Umra from Mecca.

Indian Express quoted Pilibhit District Magistrate Vaibhav Srivastavaas as saying “Both the mother and the son had gone on a religious trip to Saudi Arab along with a group of 36 others. All the 36 are already under complete institutional quarantine for 48 days at a health department building. We have sent the samples of a few persons who had symptoms and all of them, including woman’s husband, have been confirmed negative,”

It was reported earlier that group of 37 people from Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh, back from a religious trip from Mecca in Saudi Arabia, has now been quarantined after it was found that they removed "home quarantine" stamp with the help of a perfume.

The group belongs to Amaria town of Pilibhit district, sources said, adding the 37 people from about half-a-dozen villages had gone to perform 'umrah' in Mecca. The group returned to the villages via Mumbai on March 19 and all its members were stamped quarantine.

"However, they were able to rub out the stamp with the help of a foreign perfume to avoid detection," said a Pilibhit health official on condition of anonymity.

"The group avoided air route and chose to travel by train from Mumbai to Lucknow," said the official.

Pilibhit district health and administration officials had initially quarantined all 37 members of the group have been quarantined.

The local health authorities were alerted to the case when the health condition of a woman, a part of the group, deteriorated.

(With Inputs from IANS)