E-Paper
56 PGIMER staffers quarantined after Phagwara infant tests +ve
YOUNGEST PATIENT IN STATE The 6-month-old girl with congenital defect was admitted to the institute on April 9 for corrective surgery
Jalandhar/Chandigarh: A six-month-old girl with a congenital defect, who was referred from Phagwara town of Kapurthala district to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.
With this, a total of three cases of novel coronavirus have been reported from Kapurthala district, including a youngster from Kot Karaar Khan village, who has been cured of the infection.
The district official said that she is a daughter of a labourer from Phagwara who worked in local industry while patient’s grandparents and uncle have been home-quarantined and their samples were collected.
PGIMER spokesperson Dr Ashok Kumar said that the infant was admitted on April 9 for corrective surgery. “The test for the coronavirus disease was conducted as per the institute’s protocol before conducting any surgery. Surprisingly, she tested positive. The source of the infection is not yet known,” Dr Kumar said.
Fifty-six healthcare workers of the PGIMER, who attended to the six-month-old patient, have been quarantined institute officials said. The child has been shifted to the dedicated Covid-19 facility in the hospital.
A total of 18 doctors from the paediatric, cardiology and radiology department, 15 nursing officers, who have attended to the patient or have worked in that ward, have been quarantined. Similarly, 13 sanitary and hospital attendants, two physiotherapist and six X-ray technicians have also been quarantined.
Officials said that four patients along with their families who were in the same cubicle have also been quarantined and are under observation.
“All close contacts of the child are presently being screened. We are investigating how she acquired the infection. Given that the incubation period of Covid-19 is generally up to two weeks (but can be variable), it is possible that she may have been incubating the infection at the time of admission to the PGIMER. However, as she did not have any suggestive travel history or family contact, she did not fulfil the requirements for pre-emptive screening,” Dr Surjit Singh, head department of paediatrics, PGIMER, said.
Kapurthala civil surgeon Dr Jasmit Kaur Bawa said the child was admitted to the Phagwara civil hospital with a heart problem and was referred to a private hospital in Ludhiana on March 3. From there, doctors referred her PGIMER, Chandigarh, where she tested positive. Doaba region of Punjab has reported 82 cases of Covid-19 so far, including two deaths. Jalandhar reported 53 coronavirus cases, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar 19 cases, seven in Hoshiarpur and three in Kapurthala.
