The Home Secretary of West Bengal, his wife and at least 15 others have been quarantined or asked to stay at home after Kolkata reported its first case of the novel coronavirus on 17 March.
The patient, an 18-year-old boy who landed in Kolkata from the UK on 15 March is the son of an IAS officer in the Department of Home, West Bengal.
Patient Went Home Despite Being Asked to Go to Testing Centre
Sources at the State Secretariat, Nabanna, which was thoroughly sanitised on 18 March, say the the 18-year-old was feeling slight discomfort when he landed but was found to be asymptomatic at the airport.
He was, however, still asked to go to the infectious diseases hospital in Beleghata which is a testing centre and also has an isolation facility. The youth allegedly refused and went home, exposing his driver, mother and father to the virus. The government is enquiring if he used his mother's sources to evade going to the hospital.
A senior official in the government told The Quint that after his return, the youth and his family were informed that three people at a party that he attended in the UK had tested positive for coronavirus.
He was then contacted by the government and asked to come for tests immediately which he refused.
Sources also say that on the evening of 15 March, the day he landed, the patient also met a few friends at his residence in a South Kolkata high-rise, who were called for a get-together to welcome him.
On the same day, he purportedly also went to a mall in the city.
The next day, he started showing symptoms starting with a sore throat and cough. He was taken to Kolkata's MR Bangur Hospital where he was, once again, asked to get tested at the Beleghata infectious diseases hospital by the doctor who checked him.
The doctor and the healthcare professionals who attended to him are isolating at home.
Home Secretary, At Least 15 Others Isolated; Secretariat In a Tizzy
As his son evaded tests, his bureaucrat mother turned up for work at the State Secretariat (called Nabanna) the day after he landed (a Monday), meeting the home secretary in his office and many other top bureaucrats while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was in the building.
On 17 March, the patient was admitted to the isolation ward of the Beleghata Hospital. His parents, driver and domestic help were also isolated at a special isolation facility in the city's Rajarhat area and tested. All four have tested negative.
A source in Nabanna says that through the day health officials thoroughly sanitised the lift and other areas the woman had visited or passed. The Home Secretary's office was sealed and he and his wife have been quarantined. Meanwhile, at least 15 other officials have also asked to be quarantined or have self-quarantined.
The health department is still trying to establish how many people the bureaucrat came in contact with.
‘No VIP Culture Will Be Tolerated,’ Says Mamata
Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that "no VIP culture will be tolerated" when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is not a home grown case. This boy came from UK. Why won’t we he be responsible enough to do tests? Yesterday’s incident is a lesson for us all. He went out even when doctors told him to be in isolation,” she added.
"I request everyone who comes from abroad to please do a test. You should isolate as per WHO guidelines. If you are having symptoms and behaving irresponsibly, it'll be highly irresponsible of you as you'll infect thousands", she added.
Nabanna sources also say that the Chief Minister was left fuming at the actions of the home department bureaucrat and has given her a earful over the phone.
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