As government continues to identify COVID-19 clusters amid rising number of cases, a fire safety solutions company in Sector 135 of Noida where 22 people were infected was sealed by administrative officials on Tuesday, according to The Indian Express.
The development comes after district officials informed the police that some of the company employees hid their foreign travel history, an FIR was registered against it for negligence. More than 23 persons, including 16 employees of the firm and others who came in contact with them, have tested positive for coronavirus so far.
A British national had visited the firm Ceasefire Industries Pvt Ltd, in the third week of March for an audit and met its managing director, between March 15 and 19, a fact the firm hid from authorities. The Hindustan Times reports, ever since the first confirmed case, that of the managing director’s wife, was brought to the notice of the authorities last Tuesday, they began an intensive contact tracing exercise.
The British national is alleged to be the source of the infection.
Since then, more than 20 people across four districts have been found positive. The administration has prepared a list of 160 employees who are being screened. Until Monday evening, 87 contacts of the employees were under quarantine, with the number set to rise, an official said.
The Health Department’s handling of the cases connected to the firm came under heavy fire from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday. A team from Lucknow that visited the district had raised technical objections on the Health Department’s contact tracing efforts. After a heated discussion between the CM and officials, Noida District Magistrate B N Singh wrote to the administration that he did not wish to continue in the post.
With over 1,300 COVID-19 cases reported in the country so far, the number of hotspots of the disease have increased, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The ministry is implementing rigorous contact tracing and cluster containment strategies.