Coronavirus super-spreader: How Punjab's 1st Covid-19 casualty, a 70-year old priest, infected 23 others

The number of Covid-19 cases in Punjab would have been much less if it weren't for the state's first novel coronavirus fatality, a 70-year-old Sikh Gurudwara priest, who refused to follow the government's protocols to contain the spread of the deadly disease.

A resident of the Banga town in the Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar district of Punjab, Baldev Singh is likely to be identified as the 'super-spreader' of the novel coronavirus as he infected as many as 23 people out of the total 33 patients in the state, according to the health officials.

He did not disclose his travel history

Singh returned from a two-week tour of Germany and Italy on March 6. He was accompanied by two other priests hailing from his neighbouring villages. The trio reportedly hid their travel history from the Delhi airport authorities and drove off to Punjab.

Of the 23 people he has infected, 14 were his own family members including his two grandchildren. 

He did not adhere to the 14-day quarantine advisory

Defying self-quarantine rules imposed by the Union Health Ministry, Singh visited 15 villages across Punjab immediately after his return from overseas. He is said to have come in contact with close to 100 people before testing positive for COVID-19.

The health authorities in Punjab have launched a massive search to track each and every person who met Singh while he was infected.

As per Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, more than 30,000 people have been asked to self-quarantine in the state.

The rest of the positive coronavirus cases in Punjab are from Nawanshahr, Mohali, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, and Jalandhar.