Three fresh coronavirus positive cases were reported in Malda on Sunday, increasing the number of Covid-19 patients to 10 in the past 48 hours.

So far, 13 people have been detected with the infection in the district. The new cases have been reported from Harishchandrapur 1 block, where seven other cases were recorded in the past two days.

“All the 10 patients are migrant workers and had returned from Ajmer in Rajasthan on May 5,” said a health official.

At Malda Medical College and Hospital, 2,733 swab samples from Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts have been tested so far. “Among these samples, 16 have been tested positive. While 13 samples are of Malda residents, three sent from North Dinajpur have also been tested positive,” said Amit Dan, the superintendent and vice-principal of the MMCH.

The increase in the number of cases, particularly after migrant workers started returning in the district, fuelled panic among the residents of different blocks. The local people alleged that many workers had returned home without even basic screening.

A district administrative official said nine buses had reached Malda in the past 12 hours, carrying nearly 400 migrant workers from outside Bengal and other districts within the state.

“In many cases, they got off buses and went to their villages. It has become tough for us to trace them so that their swab samples can be collected for tests,” said an official.

Citing an example, he said a bus carrying 42 workers from Andhra Pradesh had reached Malda on Sunday morning. “We did not have information about the bus. Instead of reaching the local bus stand where the workers are being screened, some got down at Sujapur in Kaliachak and went home,” the official said.

In Harishchandrapur 1 block, such sly entry of migrant workers left the locals worried.

“We have spotted two autorickshaws bearing registration numbers of Delhi in the block. It was later found out that 15 migrant workers had hired those vehicles to return. None of them has undergone medical screening. The administration should restrict rampant entry of migrant workers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” said Dilip Dutta, a schoolteacher and a resident of the block.

Woman helped

Police in Alipurduar district helped a pregnant woman, who was returning with some other migrant workers to Assam from Siliguri, reach the hospital and she soon deliver her child.

Sources said a group of 122 migrant workers were on way to Kokrajhar district in Assam on a truck. As the vehicle reached Ethelbari check-post under Falakata police station, the police stopped them for screening. Suddenly, the woman fell ill and her condition deteriorated.

The police arranged a vehicle and rushed her to the state general hospital in Birpara, located 12km away. There, she gave birth to a male child. Doctors said both the mother and the child were fine.

“Other passengers of the truck have been allowed to head for Assam. Once the woman and the baby are discharged, we will arrange transport for them so that they can reach home,” said Amitabha Maity, the Alipurduar district police chief.

Additional reporting by our Alipurduar correspondent