Social outfit Jan Kalyan Morcha has raised concern over Seraikela-Kharsawan administration’s decision to place migrant labourers under home quarantine instead of shifting them to the dedicated quarantine centres.
Of the over 1,200 migrant labourers, who returned from Telangana to Jharkhand on Friday night, 17 were residents of different villages in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
On Saturday morning, all the 17 returnees were subjected to a mandatory medical check-up by the district health department at Seraikela.
Though six of them complained of sneezing and fever, all the 17 were asked to remain in home quarantine for the next 14 days.
“Of the 17 migrants, six had fever and cold. We will take their samples and get them tested at MGM Medical College soon. We have asked all the 17 to remain in home quarantine,” Seraikela-Kharsawan civil surgeon Himanshu Bhushan Barwar said.
Barwar said they were expecting hundreds of migrant workers to return to the district within the next few days. “Many of them might need to be accommodated at the quarantine centres set up by the district administration at Seraikela,” he said.
He said the six migrants with symptoms similar to coronavirus would be kept in home quarantine under the observation of a sahiya (woman health worker).
“If any of them tests positive, we will decide what to do next. As of now, there is no risk in keeping them at home,” the civil surgeon said.
However, Jan Kalyan Morcha president Om Prakash begged to differ.
“This beats any logic. Most of these labourers live in small houses with one or two rooms. How can someone, with symptoms similar to coronavirus, maintain healthy distance from his family members in such as condition?” Prakash said.
He expressed apprehension that the district, which was in the green zone so far, might slip into the red zone if any one of the migrant labourers tested positive.
Prakash, who is also a senior lawyer, said he would write to Seraikela-Kharsawan deputy commissioner A. Dodde to ensure that everybody coming from outside the state were kept at the government-identified quarantine centres.
Dodde could not be contacted for a comment despite repeated attempts on his mobile phone.