Andhra Pradesh: 15 people sent out from village as one of their direct contacts tested Covid-19 positive

Vizianagaram: For the past three days, 15 people including an infant, a senior citizen and a 10-year-old boy were forced to stay in a cattle shed where there is no electricity. The reason they were sent out of their village is one of their direct contacts were tested positive for Coronavirus.

The villagers of Ethamanuvalasa in Vizianagaram district's Pachipenta mandal were not accepted these 15 people as officials only took the infected to hospital and didn't shift the primary contacts to a quarantine centre.

"We had no food or other basic amenities in the cattle shed. Our samples were not collected for testing till Friday," said one of the 15.

Another person from the group said their temporary tents were almost blown away when it rained a couple of days ago. "We were not allowed home though the villagers saw our troubles," he added.

Speaking on this, Pachipenta tahsildar MV Ramana Murthy said, "The mandal doesn't have a quarantine centre, and the nearest one is full with the suspects, so the infected direct contacts were advised home quarantine. But out of fear, the other villagers sent them out. When we heard about it, we went to the village with judicial officials and explained the villagers. Finally, they were allowed home and told to stay isolated till their results arrive."