Daijiworld Media Network - Madikeri (SP)
Madikeri, Sep 9: At a time when Kodagu district seemed to be slowly wriggling out of the coronavirus grip, and the daily infections were showing signs of dwindling, comes the information that 51 people of a single village here have been infected with this deadly pandemic.
The unfortunate people who have suddenly and unexpectedly found themselves infected with the disease belong to Anjanageri village within Haradur gram panchayat, Somwarpet taluk. These 51 people belong to over 25 families of Anjanageri. This has resulted in a sharp spike in Covid cases of Kodagu district.
Surprisingly, the infected people had not gone out but were working in coffee plantations as coolies. It has come to light that two college students were responsible for spreading this disease. These two students who live in the Bijanamotte branch of Bettageri estate had contracted the infection initially. These students attend college at Madikeri. As a result, 15 workers who used to work in Bijanamotte plantation got the infection, said estate manager, Chandrayya.
When they suffered from symptoms of coronavirus infection initially the villagers overlooked them as they felt it might be cold and cough caused by heavy rains. The above 15 people took part in the funeral of an aged person who died of old age ailments. Haradur gram panchayat president, Padmanabha said that 36 persons, who were among the villages who attended the funeral, got infected.
51 people of a single village as such, got infected. After the college students were found to have been infected, the officials, out of suspicion, arranged for testing over 300 people from Anjanageri. During the tests, 51 were confirmed with the infection. Therefore, the entire village has been sealed down. Those suffering from symptoms of the disease have been admitted into the Covid care centres located in Kushalnagar and Alur Siddapur.
As soon as she came to know about the high incidence of the infection in a single village, Kodagu deputy commissioner, Charulata Somal, visited the spot and conducted scrutiny. The infected villagers are doing fine and the officials are keeping a close watch on their health condition. However, it is both intriguing and surprising that so many villagers got infected because of just two college students.