A woman constable of CISF from Katwa in East Burdwan voluntarily told the Nadia administration on Sunday that she had probably travelled with four of the five Covid-19 patients from Nadia’s Tehatta by a Lalgola Passenger train from Sealdah on March 20.

The 28-year-old woman, who travelled in a coach for the physically challenged, voluntarily contacted the district administration following an appeal to those who might have come in close contact with the five to get in touch with the authorities, health department officials said.

Other than her, no one has come forward in response to the appeal, the officials said.

The constable, from Char Chakrabirajpur near Katwa and posted with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, visited a government hospital in Nadia’s Krishnagar on Sunday.

Doctors at the hospital did not find any Covid-19 symptom in her but she was still sent to a government quarantine facility at a village about 5km from Krishnagar as a precaution.

She had visited a government hospital in Katwa on March 21, the day after she travelled by the Lalgola Passenger, as a precautionary measure since she had arrived from Delhi.

The state government has advised all people entering Bengal, from other states or abroad, to be in home quarantine for 14 days.

“I knew about the advice to stay in home quarantine, which is applicable even to those who are arriving from within the country. So, I went to the Katwa hospital for a check-up. The doctors there advised me to stay in home quarantine,” she said.

While being quarantined at home, the constable came to know about the four patients from Tehatta and the fact that they had travelled by a Lalgola Passenger from Sealdah to Bethuadahari on March 20.

She also came to know from news reports that the two of the patients were kids aged 6 years and 9 months.

“Four passengers with masks were travelling in the same compartment as me. My contact with the team was restricted to a child, aged around 6, who was seated beside me. I touched him a number of times,” the woman said.

She said she was in a compartment meant for the physically challenged and attached to the women’s compartment of the train.

“The four got off at Bethuadahari,” the constable said.

District health officials had said that the four patients — all related — had arrived in Sealdah from Delhi by the Rajdhani Express on March 20 and boarded the Lalgola Passenger that left Sealdah at 10.28am.

They got off at Bethuadahari and reached Barnia in Tehatta by an autorickshaw.

The four had been advised home quarantine in Delhi after officials learnt that they had come in contact with a male relative who had arrived from abroad and tested positive.

“They jumped home quarantine and boarded a train for Calcutta,” an official said.

At Barnia, the four had attended a family event. The fifth patient — an 11-year-old boy — is a relative of the four and a resident of Nadia.

All five have been admitted to the Infectious Diseases and Beleghata General Hospital. Two of them are women aged 45 and 27 and two others are girls aged 6 years and 9 months.

Based on information provided by residents and family members, the administration has prepared a list of 49 persons who might have come in close contact with the patients. “Each person is being asked about his or her contact with the patients,” said an official of the district.

On Saturday, the administration had appealed to people in the vicinity who might have come in contact with the patients to identify themselves so that chances of a community outbreak of the coronavirus could be minimised.

However, except the woman constable, no one had come forward.

The authorities in Tehatta have begun scanning the area to track down suspected carriers of the virus. But till Sunday evening, no such individual could be traced.

“We scanned the entire vicinity. The good news is no fresh case was reported today. We will continue the scanning,” Tehatta sub-divisional officer Aneesh Dasgupta said.

The district administration has launched a drive to disinfect the area with sodium hypochlorite solution sent by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. “The CMC has provided us 9,000 litres of sodium hypochlorite along with the jet spray vehicle,” an official said.

An official of the state health department said three close contacts of the five patients have been admitted to a government hospital in south Calcutta. “Their samples will be sent for tests on Monday,” said the official.