Shailvee Sharda & Pathikrit Chhakraborty | TNN (THE TIMES OF INDIA; March 22, 2020)

Lucknow: Over 100 teams, comprising around 1,000 members of the local administration and the UP health department, have been tasked with tracking down all possible contacts of singer Kanika Kapoor during her stay in Lucknow since March 11. She tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday.

The teams are trying to track all those who were present at social gatherings attended by Kanika by conducting a boots-on-the-ground exercise besides reaching out to people living in the vicinity of her house in Mahanagar.

“The combing exercise is being done as per the Union health & family welfare ministry’s standard operating procedure on containment of Coronavirus. Anyone who disrupts the scanning or doesn’t cooperate will face police action,” additional DM Amar Pal Singh, who is supervising the teams, told TOI.

On Saturday, the team scanned nearly 22,000 residents living near Kanika’s house. “The houses of Adil Ahmed and Adesh Seth, who hosted two parties attended by her, have been sanitised. Residents have been told not to move out nor let anyone come in for the next 48 hours,” an officer helping the UP health department put together Kanika’s contact list said.

Another team of experts is scanning video footages and CCTV records of the five-star hotel where Kanika stayed between March 14 and 16. “There are reports that she dined in the hotel’s buffet and also attended to several guests in the lobby. She was living there at a time when the South African team was staying in the hotel for the ODI game, which was eventually called off. There is information that Kanika was seen briefly attending a news channel’s annual conclave held at the hotel. Therefore, it is important to scan the CCTV footage and list those came in contact with her,” an officer engaged in surveillance said.

“She flouted instructions on home isolation despite being a potential case of Covid-19. Instead of staying at home, she went socialising. Now after having tested positive, she has put everyone who came in contact with her at risk,” said Dr Narendra Agarwal, Lucknow’s chief medical officer who has lodged an FIR against the singer.