Coronavirus in Ghaziabad: 31 samples taken for testing so far, 13 under home isolation

Ghaziabad: Health department officials on Monday said the total number of samples that have been sent from Ghaziabad till now to ascertain presence of Covid-19 is

Ghaziabad: Health department officials on Monday said the total number of samples that have been sent from Ghaziabad till now to ascertain presence of Covid-19 is 31. They added that at least 13 people in Ghaziabad are still under isolation at their homes and none of them have opted for isolation wards set up at the MMG District Hospital.

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On Monday, a 28-year-old man from Muradnagar working as a driver also preferred isolation at home after he was approached by health department teams following his travel history to Nepal.

“Initially, the man was willing for isolation at MMG hospital but then said he would prefer to stay at home. He said he allowed it as he had no symptoms but only issues related to blood pressure. In all, we have 13 persons who are strictly under isolation at their homes. This includes the son of the 57-year-old Ghaziabad man who had travelled to Tehran and had been found positive and is in a hospital in Delhi. The test report of the positive patient’s wife has come out negative but she is also under isolation at home as she and her son are staying together,” said GK Mishra, district malaria officer.

“Till the time her son’s reports arrive, she has been advised home-isolation. Apart from the Covid-19 samples, we have sent two more samples of suspected H1N1 (Swing Flu) cases for testing. In all, at least 27 samples for H1N1 have been sent so far and reports of 25 have been received. These 25 include three positive patients so far,” Mishra added.

To make it easier to deal with Covid-19 and Swine Flu, the health department has dedicated a 10-bed isolation ward at MMG Hospital for Covid-19 suspected cases, while and a 10-bed isolation ward at Sanjay Nagar Combined District Hospital has been dedicated for patients of Swine Flu.

“For Covid-19, we have sent 31 samples so far, out of which 17 have turned negative and one was confirmed positive. The reports of the rest are awaited. We have already issued instructions for maintain cleanliness and for people to avoid large gatherings in the wake of Coronavirus fears,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer.

Officials said samples for Covid-19 for the six hospital staff – two doctors and three non-medical staff from the MMG Hospital and one doctor from the Sanjay Nagar Hospital – have also been taken. The six had suspected that while going for VIP duty on March 5, they had come in contact with a driver and an emergency medical technician (EMT) who had transported the Covid-19 positive patient to Delhi on March 4, and fearing that they may contact the infection, had returned mid-way and isolated themselves at home and at the hospital guest house.

The test reports of the EMT and the driver have turned out to be negative, officials added.