Coronavirus: The man from Assam had left Kerala without telling anyone
A man from Assam suspected to have been exposed to coronavirus was tracked down in a "joint operation" by the police and Indian Railways after he jumped quarantine in Kerala. The man, a migrant worker from Assam, had left Kerala without telling anyone, on Monday. He was found around midnight on a train to Assam, at New Bongaigaon Station, and hauled back into isolation on Thursday.
He was travelling from West Bengal to Assam on Kanchanjunga Express, said railway sources. He is from Morigaon district.
The man worked at a restaurant in Kozhikode where a coronavirus patient, back from Dubai, had eaten food before he was tested. All employees of the restaurant had been asked to be on home quarantine but three employees left, including the man from Assam.
The train coach in which the man travelled has been sanitised but other passengers have not been quarantined. The reason is that the man has not tested positive so far, official sources said.
His sample has been collected and sent for testing, sources say.
Kerala contacted Assam police for help to trace the man, saying he could pose serious health risks. The police tracked the runaway's cell phone and found that he was on the move with his location changing rapidly.
Police guessed he was on a train since hundreds of migrants are going back to their states from Kerala.
All police stations on his route were alerted and finally, the chase ended in Assam.