Battling the Covid-19 pandemic that has been spreading swiftly in Ludhiana, health teams are still struggling to find the source of infection in several cases due to lack of cooperation from patients.

Of the 3,028 cases reported as of Thursday, health teams have completed the tracing of 2,886 cases, but have been unable to establish the source of infection in 277 cases.

Health officials said this was due to several patients not disclosing their contacts, citing social stigma and other reasons, which increased the risk of the virus spreading further.

“Some patients do not even reveal the places they have visited. We encourage patients to provide as much information as possible to help track their contacts, who are at risk of contracting the virus and spreading it further. But sometimes, patients do not cooperate as they don’t want more relatives to be hospitalised,” said the official.

Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said patients needed to cooperate to help contain the pandemic. “Health department teams are regularly visiting the affected areas, especially micro-containment zones, and motivate residents to share information about their contacts to aid the department’s efforts,” he added.