3 Mumbai journalists test positive for Covid-19, put in isolation

Three journalists in Mumbai who tested positive for Covid-19 were moved to the civic isolation facility for asymptomatic Covid-19 positive persons at Powai after they reported their test results to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Friday night, officials said Sunday.

The three are part of a team of 40 journalists who were staying at a hotel in Bandra from where they were commuting to South Mumbai for work every day. The other 37 people in the team have now been quarantined at the Bandra hotel itself as their test results reported negative.

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Vinayak Vispute, BMC’s assistant commissioner of the H West ward said, “The media house these three journalists are employees of called me on Friday night, and informed about three Covid-19 positive cases. The tests were done privately by the media house, so the three persons are not tested and recorded by BMC. However, as a precautionary measure, they have been immediately moved to the asymptomatic positive persons to isolation facility. Their tests will be conducted by BMC.”

“The media house has arranged for quarantining the remaining 37 teammates at the same hotel, at their own expense and understanding with the hotel management. The media house has assured BMC that these persons will be strictly quarantined in their rooms,” he said.

The journalists are from the Times Group, the officer said.

All three persons who tested positive worked on the news desk, and not in field reporting.

Maharashtra has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country at 1,895 and a majority of them are in Mumbai. One hundred and twenty seven people have died of Covid-19 so far while 208 patients have recovered.