Unaware of source of infection, say Nanded returnees

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, May 6

The pilgrims, who have returned from Hazur Sahib in Nanded and tested positive for Covid-19, are unaware of the source of infection.

A majority of them, however, admit that there was no mandatory social distancing during the 48-hour-long journey back home, not even during their halt for meals.

Most of the patients have not developed any health complications till date even seven days after their arrival. None of them is taking any medicine.

Swaran Singh (50), who is admitted to an isolation ward in the district, along with his wife, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, all positive, said, “We reached Sangrur on April 29. There was no social distancing in the bus. We took food during the journey at various places on roadsides, but most meals came from gurdwaras. We had langar sitting in a row without any social distancing. We, however, did not stop at any dhaba or eatery.”

Another positive pilgrim Jaspal Singh (24), who came on a different bus, said, “We had food inside the bus. Only once we had food outside a dhaba near an unknown city, but the food had come from a gurdwara. We are unaware of the source of infection.”

While talking The Tribune, pilgrims said they were healthy and taking proper meals. “We do not have cough, cold, temperature or any breathing problem. We are not taking any medicine, yet we are Covid patients. We have doubts over the test reports,” alleged Gurbhajan Singh (62) from Bhawanigarh.

There are many like the parents of Fatehdeep Singh (17), another positive patient, who strongly believe that there is some problem in testing.

“My son is completely healthy. How can he be infected? There seems to be some problem in testing,” said his mother Sukhwinder Kaur, a resident of Dirba.