A 70-year-old man from Punjab, Banga Baldev Singh, who took ill after a visit to Italy and Germany was state’s first coronavirus fatality. It might be the case that he could be the state’s “super-spreader”. Health officials state that he along with two others, including a religious leader, may also have widely transmitted the disease.
“Super spreader” is generally a colloquial term for people who end up infecting a large number of people.
The term was used widely for Patient-31 in South Korea, a 61-year-old woman who attended church while she was infected. After her, the spike was sudden in South Korea in terms of the COVID-19 infection rate.
Out of the 33 deaths that Punjab has reported, 23 are directly or indirectly related to Baldev Singh, who died on 18 March, and his two fellow travellers.
After coming from abroad in the first week of March, Baldev Singh and the religious defied the authorities self-quarantine advisory and socialised heavily within and outside their villages.
Now the authorities are on a hunt of people that Baldev Singh met after coming form his stay in Italy. The authorities are planning to do so to contain the spread of COVID-19.
