Photo used for representational purpose
A wedding in Bihar turned into a COVID-19 infection chain as the groom died and over 100 guests tested positive.
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According to health department officials, the groom, who had high fever and died two days after the wedding, could not be tested for COVID-19 as his body was cremated.
The wedding appears to have set off the biggest infection chain in Bihar. The officials said after contact tracing, they tested over 350 people, of which more than 100 guests tested positive in Paliganj sub-division of Patna district, in last few days. About 15 of the groom’s relatives, who attended the wedding, have also tested positive.
The groom was an engineer based in Gurugram and he drove down for the wedding. A few days after the ‘tilak’ ceremony, he started showing symptoms of the disease. On June 15, the date of wedding, he was running high fever and wanted the ceremony to be deferred. However, he relented upon the insistence of family who made him take paracetamol tablets and attend the rituals.
On June 17, his condition deteriorated significantly and the family rushed him to AIIMS in Patna, but he died on the way to the hospital.
The family members performed the last rites but the case was brought to the notice of the administration when an anonymous person made a call to Patna’s District Magistrate Sri Kumar Ravi and narrated the whole episode.
All close relatives of the deceased, who attended the ceremony, were tested on June 19. Of them 15 tested positive, the officials said.
As a measure to contain the spread of the disease, a special camp was set up at the village where the marriage took place on June 24-26 during which samples of 364 people were collected. Of them, 86 tested positive, the officials added.
Although most who tested positive were asymptomatic, they have been shifted to isolation centres in Bihta and Phulwarisharif.
The district magistrate ordered a probe into more than 50 people attending the marriage in violation of the lockdown restrictions put in place by the Union government.
Patna district happens to be the worst-affected in Bihar with 699 confirmed cases till date and five casualties, according to figures provided by the administration. The number of active cases is 372.
On Monday, Bihar witnessed biggest single-day spike with 394 cases and Patna district accounted for more than 20 per cent of these cases. About eighty cases were reported from Paliganj alone.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation and urged people to strictly follow precautions, including face masks and social distance.
(With inputs from PTI)
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