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Covid in Chandigarh: 8 contacts of South Africa returnee’s wife test negative
A day after a 39-year-old man, who returned from South Africa, his wife and a domestic help tested positive for Covid, the Chandigarh health department traced and tested eight contacts
A day after a 39-year-old man, who returned from South Africa, his wife and a domestic help were tested positive for Covid-19, the Chandigarh health department traced and tested their eight contacts on Tuesday.
All have tested negative, said Dr Suman Singh, director, health services, Chandigarh.
The man had tested negative after undergoing an RT-PCR test at the airport. Although he was quarantined at his residence at Sector 36 soon after he arrived in Chandigarh on November 21, his wife had met several people in the past one week.
“On Monday, positive patients were shifted to an institutional quarantine facility at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. On Tuesday, the health department tested eight community contacts of the returnee’s wife at GMCH-32 and all of them were found to be negative. Also, none of the other family members is infected,” said Dr Suman Singh.
After the three cases surfaced on Monday, it raised concern in view of the emergence of Omicron (B.1.1.529), a new variant that is believed to have originated in South Africa and has attracted worldwide attention.
Dr Suman said samples of the returnee and his two positive contacts have been sent for whole genome sequencing to the National Centre for Disease Control, Delhi, on Tuesday to find the variant. “The results of genome sequencing usually take a minimum of two weeks,” she said.
Mohali logs one more death
Meanwhile, Mohali on Tuesday reported one more Covid-related fatality, taking the district’s toll to 1,072. Authorities said a 71-year-old woman from Nayagaon died while undergoing treatment at the PGIMER.
In November, Mohali reported four fatalities, while no death was reported from Chandigarh and Panchkula.
Also, 13 more people tested positive for Covid-19 in the tricity, including nine in Chandigarh, three in Mohali and one in Panchkula. The daily tally stood at 11 on Monday.
The active caseload rose to 130, with 65 patients in Chandigarh, 38 in Mohali, and 27 in Panchkula.
Chandigarh has so far reported 65,465 positive cases, of which 64,580 have been cured and 820 patients have died. In Mohali, 68,948 cases have been recorded. While 67,838 patients have recovered, 1,072 have died. In Panchkula, 30,832 people have tested positive, of whom 30,426 have recovered and 379 have succumbed.
Don’t panic, says PGIMER
In view of the Omicron threat, medical experts from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) issued an advisory. Dr PVM Lakshmi, professor, community medicine and school of public health, highlighted that there is no need to panic as, so far, no case of this new variant has been reported in India.
Dr Mini P Singh, nodal officer for Covid-19 testing at the PGIMER, said residents in the tricity are advised to continue following Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, including wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing, and ensure vaccination of all eligible individuals.
“Mass gatherings and non-essential travel should be strictly avoided. Patients with respiratory symptoms should get themselves tested for the virus and isolate themselves till the reports are available,” she said.
