37 people from UP's Pilibhit back from Saudi Arabia quarantined

A group of 37 people from Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh, back from a religious trip from Mecca in Saudi Arabia, has now been quarantined after it was found that they removed "home quarantine" stamp with the help of a perfume, local health and administration officials said on Wednesday.

The suspicion arose when the health condition of a woman, a part of the group, deteriorated and later she was found coronavirus positive. Her son, too, has been declared corona positive, officials in Pilibhit said.

The group belongs to Amaria town of Pilibhit district, sources said, adding the 37 people from about half-a-dozen villages had gone to perform 'umrah' in Mecca. The group returned to the villages via Mumbai on March 19 and all its members were stamped quarantine.

"However, they were able to rub out the stamp with the help of a foreign perfume to avoid detection," said a Pilibhit health official on condition of anonymity.

"The group avoided air route and chose to travel by train from Mumbai to Lucknow," said the official.

Pilibhit district health and administration officials told IANS that all 37 members of the group have been quarantined. IANS