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Day after Mohali man’s death, 4 new cases in tricity
Chandigarh man and three Mohali residents have contact history; positive cases go up from 1 to 28 in two weeks
Chandigarh/Mohali: A 49-year-old man, who resides in Sector 35, has tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total count in Chandigarh to 16, on Wednesday.
Also, a day after a 65-year-old Mohali man died of coronavirus infection, three more people have tested positive, taking the count to 10 in the district.
The Chandigarh patient is under observation at Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, where he was admitted on March 30.
Officials said he had a “typical case of pneumonia and bilateral pneumonitis”.
Officials said he has no travel history to any affected country, but he came in contact with his relatives at Mansa, Punjab, who had returned from Dubai and Singapore recently.
His three family members have been home quarantined. The premises of the house has been sanitised by the health department. Information about his contacts in Punjab has been shared, officials said.
In Mohali, a 76-year-old woman and her 10-year-old granddaughter, who are residents of Phase 9, have tested positive. The woman is the mother of an NRI who returned from Canada recently and tested positive along with his wife in Chandigarh on March 30.
A 55-year-old man of Jagatpura in Mohali also tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday. He was in direct contact with a 22-year-old resident of Sector 30, Chandigarh, who had returned from Dubai on March 11 and had tested positive for coronavirus on March 27.
Mohali civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said, “All three positive cases were in contact with Chandigarh patients. We have admitted them to Gian Sagar Hospital in Banur. They are stable. We are taking samples from their areas.”
The Jagatpura man’s wife and two children have been moved to a quarantine facility in Phase 6, Mohali.
Meanwhile, the test reports of seven family members of the 65-year-old Mohali man, who died due to Covid-19 on March 31, are negative. Even, the second nurse of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) who was tested after coming in contact with the man has been reported to be Covid-19 negative. A 32-year-old nurse had tested positive on Tuesday.
Dr Singh said all nine patients admitted to different hospitals of Mohali are responding to treatment and are stable. “We will be taking second sample of a 27-year-old woman admitted to the civil hospital on Thursday, and in case the report is negative, she will be discharged,” he said.
Jagatpura, Faidan sealed
The Mohali-Chandigarh border crossing that links Jagatpura with Faidan in the UT was sealed after the 55-year-old man tested positive for Covid-19.
Mohali deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan along with officials of health department visited Jagatpura, which houses at least 20,000 migrant workers.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been deployed to strictly enforce the curfew in the village. A team of the health department is also conducting door-to-door survey to trace contacts of the patient.
Meanwhile, a similar situation was witnessed at Faidan village, located adjacent to Sector 48 beyond the railway line. At least 40 people from the village have been kept at the community centre in Sector 47, which has been converted into a temporary quarantine centre. The decision was taken in view of health protocols, as home quarantine was unsafe for the villagers, said officials.
UT to shift positive cases to PGI
Meanwhile, the UT health department has decided that all the positive patients will be shifted to the Nehru Hospital’s Extension Block at the PGIMER from Friday (April 3).
“Present positive patients may also be shifted and the decision in this regard will taken later,” said UT health secretary Arun Gupta.
However, all three hospitals (PGIMER, GMSH-16 and GMCH-32) will continue to screen patients and take samples of suspected cases and keep them in respective isolation wards till the receipt of results. The confirmed cases will be shifted to the Covid-19 dedicated facility.
A senior UT officer, on the condition of anonymity, said the decision has been taken keeping in view the scarcity of resources, including protective gear, and to make their judicious use.
However, PGIMER doctors have reacted sharply to the decision. “This is an unscientific decision as positive patients will be moved from one place to another, increasing the risk posed to health workers. The decision should be reviewed,” said Dr Uttam Thakur, president of the Association of Resident Doctors.
