5 days on, reports of 2 suspected patients still awaited from Pune lab
The patients, a 44-year-old man and his 15-year-old son, had returned from Italy and were admitted to the isolation ward of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, as soon as they reached Amritsar on March 4. The two had tested positive for the virus in the preliminary tests.
The reports of the blood and swab samples of two suspected coronavirus patients sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, five days ago is still awaited.
The patients, a 44-year-old man and his 15-year-old son, had returned from Italy and were admitted to the isolation ward of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, as soon as they reached Amritsar on March 4. The two had tested positive for the virus in the preliminary tests.
“Their condition is improving. We are ub contact with the officials at NIV and are expecting the reports by Monday evening,” said Dr Raman Sharma, medical superintendent, GNDH.
Preliminary Covid-19 test at Amritsar medical college
A team of doctors of the microbiology department of the medical college led by head of department (HOD) Dr Raveena had conducted the preliminary “E-gene” test of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at the “swine flu influenza lab”, on the swab samples of three other suspected patients who were admitted to the isolation ward of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) here on Sunday.
“The samples belong to that of a couple from Australia and a man with a Dubai travel history. They showed symptoms of coronavirus at Shri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport here on Sunday. The samples have also been sent to NIV, Pune, along with the findings of the test conducted by us,” said GMC principal Dr Sujata Sharma.
“Even after GMC Amritsar gets the authority to conduct the preliminary tests, we will send the samples of the patients to NIV for final confirmation. The local testing gives us the advantage of taking precautions early as till now the report used to come from Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), Delhi,” Dr Sharma added.
Placement fairs postponed
The district administrations of Amritsar and Tarn Taran postponed the placement fairs as a precautionary measure, officials said. Under the ‘Ghar-Ghar Rozgar Yojna’ of the Punjab government, placement fairs were scheduled to be conducted on March 12 and 13 at Amritsar group of colleges.
Awareness seminar for police personnel
The health officials conducted a special seminar on Monday for police personnel to create awareness about the dos and don’ts amid coronavirus scare. The Punjab Police personnel, including various station house officers and heads of police posts, attended the seminar.