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Coronavirus: One more positive case reported, toll in Pune goes up to 10
PMC has sent 237 samples to NIV, of which 7 are positive, 205 are negative and results of 25 are awaited
On Friday, the city witnessed one more Covid-19 (coronavirus) positive case, taking the total number to ten in the city. The latest patient had returned from the US on March 10. The authorities said that the patient has not come in contact with many people as he returned to the city on the same day after landing at Delhi airport. All the patients are admitted ta Naidu hospital and are currently stable, said Deepak Mhaisekar, divisional commissioner.
As of Saturday evening, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has sent 237 samples to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, out of which 205 are negative while results are awaited for 25 and 7 are positive. Including the seven positive cases in Pimpri-Chinchwad, there are a total of 10 corona positive cases in the city.
Naval Kishore Ram, district collector, while addressing the media on Friday said, “There has been no case of local transmission in the city except for the one wherein the driver who drove the Dubai couple from the airport. There is no outbreak in the city.” Mhaisekar said, “However, it is also to be considered that even locals are as much vulnerable and susceptible to the virus if they come in contact with any infected person. So, we are recommending that social distancing is the best option.”
The district administration is also tracking around 170 people who have travelled in foreign countries in the last one month. Ram said, “We have got a list of around 170 foreign-return Indian passengers from over 200 tour operators. We will track them to ensure that they have self-isolated themselves for at least 14 days and also reaching out the first contacts of these people. This is just to ensure that no possible infected person is left unchecked.”
With regards to the other four districts, there are 44 people from Kolhapur, 6 in Sangli, 9 in Satara and 7 in Solapur, who have returned from foreign countries and will be tracked till the incubation period which is 14 days, the official said.
The administration is trying to cover every possible foreign returnees and their first contacts to ensure that the spread of the virus is contained by seeking lists and contacts of such people from hotels, tour operators and the airport too.
No case of local transmission: district collector
The city authorities have appealed to citizens to not create any panic. Naval Kishore Ram, district collector, said, “There is not a single case of local transmission in the city, except the cab driver who dropped the infected couple from Mumbai airport to Pune. Doctors at Naidu hospital also confirmed that the two children of the driver and his wife have tested negative for the virus.”
Two-bed ICU facility at Naidu will start soon
After the number of suspected patients and positive patients increased in the city, Naidu hospital which did not have a single ICU or ventilator facility has now procured two ICU beds which will start soon. The ICU facility will be used in case of any patient who is suspected or positive needs any ventilator facility.
Administration cracks down on miscreants spreading rumours
Divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said that the police have tracked down one miscreant who had photoshopped a fake news about a positive case in Satara and used a media publication’s name to spread the rumour. He said, “The person has been identified by the police, but he has switched off his phone for two days. He will be caught soon. We will take strict action against such people to ensure that rumours are not spread to create panic amongst people.”
A total of 1,753 international passengers has been screened at the Pune airport from March 5 to March 13.
Precautions taken by the health care administration
Doctors at Naidu hospital stated that they are following protocol for the health staff attending to Covid-19 suspected or positive patients as per the guidelines of the Centre for Disease Control which is also WHO approved.
A dedicated staff is in direct contact with the positive and suspected patients. Doctors at Naidu said that the patients do not need intervention often, but only to keep a check on the symptoms if they are escalating or not. As of now only symptomatic treatment is going on for the patients.
The doctors and the nursing staff are given face masks and gloves. They are asked to sanitise their hands regularly. Visitors are also asked to sanitise their hands at every entry point.
