Mumbai: Close on the heels of the state’s health department decision to immediately quarantine patients on their arrival from Wuhan, China, comes the news of 29-year-old Sanpada being admitted to Kasturba hospital for possible exposure to coronavirus. Although his preliminary report was negative, the hospital has sent his blood sample to National Institute of Virology (NIV) for confirmation.
“We have started the testing of coronavirus at Kasturba and very first patient was tested negative after his swab reports were found negative,” said a senior health official.
Notably, till now, travellers from China were kept under observation in isolation wards only if they showcased similar symptoms like cough, cold and fever. But according to the new guidelines issued by the state health department on Monday, all travellers from Wuhan, the epicentre of nCOV would be kept under isolation and their samples would be sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) received the circular only on Wednesday.
“From now on, we will isolate the travellers with flu-like symptoms. It will be done as a precautionary measure,” said Dr Pradip Awate, the state surveillance officer.
Nearly 50 people from Maharashtra had returned from China. Of them, 20 suspected cases of coronavirus were quarantined at different hospital across the state. However, in Mumbai, 11 travellers were kept under observation in isolation ward, of them, 10 were discharged after their test reports were found negative by the NIV.
The city doctors have advised flyers with travel history of China to visit hospitals voluntarily for checkups. “The incubation period of nCOV is around 14 days, so it is possible that passengers from China might have been infected but didn’t show symptoms. With early detection, they can be treated faster which increases the chance of survival,” said Dr Om Shrivastav, city-based epidemiologist.
11,093 screened at Mumbai airport till Feb 3
Mumbai: As the coronavirus crisis continues to spread across the world, as many as 11,093 people have been screened at the Mumbai International Airport till February 3.
Of those screened, 107 belonged to Maharashtra, including 21 who showed symptoms similar to Coronavirus.
So far, 20 of the 21 patients have been tested negative for coronavirus in Mumbai’s Kasturba hospital and Pune’s Naidu hospital - the two dedicated hospitals for suspected patients in the state.
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, suspected patients in several states have been put under observation, including Kerala where nearly 2,421 of them are being monitored.
Meanwhile, other states have also been taking precautionary measures to meet any eventuality in view of the swift spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, China has imposed quarantine and travel restrictions, affecting the movement of 56 million people in more than a dozen cities, amid fears that the transmission rate will accelerate.
