State cracks whip, SA national, hotel face FIR

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The medical officer of BBMP Health department in Shivajinagar has formally filed a complaint against the 66-year-old missing South African national and the five star hotel for flouting rules of The Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act of 2020. The medical officer identified as Dr M Naveen Kumar, 48, of Shivajinagar sub-division has filed a complaint in this regard with the High Grounds police station on Sunday morning at around 11.50 am.

The name of the missing COVID 19 South African national who is the employee of a South African pharma firm has also been mentioned in the FIR copy. Name of Shangri La Hotel has also been mentioned in the FIR copy. The South African national was found to be infected by the Omicron variant of the virus, allegedly checked out of the hotel by reportedly showing a negative certificate and the hotel where he stayed failed to inform the authorities.

The medical officer in his complaint has stated that the foreign national came to the city on November 20.

Tests conducted at the international airport in Bengaluru revealed that he was infected by COVID 19 and he was sent to the five-star hotel for 14 days of quarantine. The hotel staff was advised to alert the BBMP officials when he checks out. However the 66-yearold man checked out of the hotel on November 27 and the hotel failed to inform the BBMP.

When the hotel was questioned, they told the authorities that the man had checked out after submitting a COVID 19 negative certificate from SR Lab. The authorities who are not convinced with the hotel’s justification have stated that it is clear negligence on part of the hotel management and they are responsible for spreading an epidemic disease among the public and that legal action must be taken against them.

On December 2, the union health ministry identified the 66-yearold as being infected by the Omicorn variant following genomic sequencing samples. Along with this man, a doctor from Bengaluru was identified as the first Omicron variant cases in India.

The state government had directed the BBMP commissioner to register a police complaint. Intensified efforts are on to track the South African national who has reportedly returned to South Africa via Dubai.

The complaint has been registered under various sections of The Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act of 2020. Further investigations are on.