Covid testing began at Dhanbad railway station on Sunday with two of 87 passengers who came here by the New-Delhi Howrah Rajdhani Express testing positive for the coronavirus.
A joint team of Dhanbad police, Railway Protection Force and district health officials deputed on platform 1 at the station accompanied all the passengers who arrived here at 6.35 am to the first-class waiting hall of station. There, a team of officials, headed by the nodal officer of the Dedicated Covid Health Centre of Dhanbad, Dr Alok Vishwakarma, conducted tests on all 87 passengers using rapid antigen kits.
The two persons who tested positive were sent to the Dedicated Covid Health Centre of Dhanbad at the railway’s zonal training institute at Bhuli in an ambulance.
Talking to The Telegraph Online today, Vishwakarma said, “It took less than 45 minutes to complete the entire process of testing. All passengers cooperated with the process. And since the two passengers had mild symptoms they were admitted to Covid health centre meant for asymptomatic patients.”
The nodal officer said that tests would be carried out on passengers everyday from now. “We started with two trains, the Rajdhani and the Jodhpur Howrah Superfast Express. Gradually, we will increase the number of tests on passengers arriving at Dhanbad,” he said.
Dhanbad is connected by seven trains now. These are New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express, Jodhpur-Howrah Superfast Express, Secunderabad- Darbhanga Express, Shipra Express (Indore-Howrah), Durgiana Express (Amritsar-Howrah), Ganga Sutlej Covid Special (Dhanbad-Ludhiana), Poorva Express (New Delhi-Howrah).
In-charge of the local RPF post Avinash Karosia said, “Sunday’s testing drive was carried out smoothly and after about 45 minutes, the time taken to complete all the tests on passengers, we were back at the RPF post at 7.15 am.”
In a bid to break the Covid chain, the district administration has decided to carry out intensive rapid antigen tests across localities in addition to regular tests at the station.
At present, there are 400 active Covid cases in the district.
