A gardener, who is said to be working at residence of a Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officer on Passey Road in Patiala, has tested positive for coronavirus.
The gardener, who, along with his family, has been staying in the servant quarters of the officer’s residence, has been shifted to the isolation ward of Government Rajindra Hospital.
The health department has taken samples of his wife and children.
Patiala civil surgeon Dr Harish Malhotra said the gardener did not have any travel history and was not in contact with any other Covid-19 patient.
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“Our teams have collected samples of his wife and two children. We have also initiated the process to quarantine the PCS officer and her contacts for medical investigation,” he said.
The patient was staying in the servant quarters of the PCS officer’s residence on Passey Road, which houses civil and judicial officers and has been sealed to check the spread of Covid-19.
He said the gardener was asymptomatic.
The Civil Surgeon said rapid response teams had been pressed into service as soon as the lab reports came in on Friday evening.
The gardener has no travel history and didn’t have any close contacts with suspected Covid-19 cases.
Dr Malhotra said, “We are trying to figure out how he got infected. The teams have already started working. His family and close contacts will be tested in a few hours.”
