Chennai Hairdresser Keeps Salon Illegally Open During Lockdown, Is Now COVID-19 Positive

A Chennai hairdresser who kept his services open illegally amid lockdown, has ended up contracting the novel coronavirus.

According to an India Today report, after the saloon owner from Valasaravakkam municipality area tested positive, the Greater Chennai Corporation has now actively started contact tracing all residents in the region, especially those who visited his saloon in Koyambedu neighbourhood.

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A truck driver from Erode who drives to the Koyambedu market regularly is said to have visited the saloon. His test results are awaited.

"Though the saloon does not come under essential items, the man had opened the shop for labourers who visit the market. The shop was identified and closed soon after the person tested positive," The New Indian Express quoted B Jayaraman, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Koyambedu), as saying.

Ten among the visited were spotted by the authorities. They have been asked to remain at home for the quarantine period.

A few others have also been quarantined in Koyambedu after they came forward to be tested on hearing that the man had tested positive.

India Today report states that incident sparked fear among residents of the area and 30 people have already come forward to admit having come in contact with the hairdresser.

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Valasaravakkam recorded three positive cases on Sunday, and this tally includes an electrician who had been working under contract at a government hospital, reports The New Indian Express.

Reports state that the hairdresser was admitted to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital and is currently stable. He had voluntarily approached officials for testing after developing a fever, said corporation officials.

It is still unclear if police will press charges against him for violating the lockdown protocol and putting other people at risk.

In an incident similar to the one in Tamil Nadu, on April 25, six villagers in Madhya Pradesh, who went for a hair-cut, to a salon, tested positive for coronavirus.

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¡°The entire village has been sealed and survey is underway. The kin of the six positive cases have been home-quarantined and their samples are being sent for testing,¡± chief medical and health officer (CMHO) of Khargone district, Dr Divyesh Verma, told The New Indian Express.

¡°It seems the same towel and instruments used during the haircut and shaving of the youth (who worked in Indore hotel and later tested positive for COVID-19) were used by the barber for the other customers, which infected six of them,¡± Dr Divyesh Verma added.