A health worker sanitises a home in Kheerwa village of Sikar
JAIPUR: Kheerva village in Laxmangarh tehsil of Rajasthan’s Sikar has witnessed 21 deaths in as many days. But just four of these deaths recorded during April 16 to May 5 have officially been attributed to Covid-19.
Taking note of this “unusually high” figure in a village of 3,500 residents, state health officials rushed to Kheerva on Friday. They took random samples to ascertain the possibility of a community spread of the virus.
A villager who died in Surat was buried in Kheerva on April 16 without following Covid-19 guidelines.
Villagers claim misinformation drive, say not all died of Covid
The body was not only taken out of the plastic bag, but was also touched by several men who thronged the burial.
Village sarpanch Hakim Ali said, “Sometimes we don’t record a single death in a year, while the average is around five to six. This is too high.”
PCC president and education minister Govind Singh Dotasra, who is the local MLA, posted about the burial on social media on Thursday and linked the series of deaths in the village to the violation of protocol by the villagers during the burial of the Covidpositive victim.
The local administration has not confirmed that the man was infected by the virus.
Villagers have alleged that misinformation was being spread that all deaths occurred due to Covid.
Dotasra has deleted his post which invited the ire of locals accusing him of making false claims.
The minister clarified to TOI on Friday that the post was deleted after the local administration brought to his notice that the body was not of a Covid victim.
“Still, the team of doctors was sent to find out the reason behind the unusual number of deaths in the village. A total of 157 RT-PCR samples were collected to determine the scale of infection in the village,” he said.
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