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Delay in results leaves wife, son of Ghaziabad’s Covid-19 patient stuck at home
The wife and son of the Ghaziabad-based man, who tested positive for Covid-19, continue to remain quarantined at their home as the district health department officials
The wife and son of the Ghaziabad-based man, who tested positive for Covid-19, continue to remain quarantined at their home as the district health department officials said the reports of the boy were yet to be received. Their swab samples were taken to be tested for strains of the novel coronavirus on March 4, the day the 57-year-old businessman was shifted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi.
“After he was declared positive (March 4), the samples of his wife and son were taken and sent for testing on March 6. Normally, the test reports are received within 2-3 days. His wife has been declared negative for any Covid-19 infection, but, till Wednesday evening, we had not received his son’s reports. As a result, the mother-son duo remain in isolation at home and will stay there till reports are received,” Ghaziabad chief medical officer Dr NK Gupta said.
Officials said that after the 57-year-old businessman was tested positive for Covid-19 infeciton, his wife and son have been kept under “strict home isolation” in their flat at a highrise in Ghaziabad.
The businessman had visited Tehran and returned to India on February 23. State and district health department officials received the man’s travel information on March 2, after which he was traced down to Ghaziabad’s Vijay Nagar, where his family lives; the man is based out of Delhi because of his work. His swab samples, which were sent to National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), tested positive for Covid-19 infection on March 4.
“The family remains has since remained indoors. The supply of milk, vegetables and other daily essentials are left at their doorstep. They did not celebrate Holi and have remained confined to their flat at the eleventh floor of their high rise,” said an officer from district health department.
After the 57-year-old man was declared positive for Covid-19, the health department teams also conducted complete sanitization of the building’s common areas, such as lifts, stairways, and other facilities.
“The eleventh floor, where the patient stays with his family, was completely sanitizsed with jet spray of hydrochloride solution. However, we did not disclose any details about the patient or his family to any other residents but briefed them about all precautions to be taken against the novel coronavirus,” Dr Gupta said.
In connection with the outbreak of the novel the district health department has so far taken 31 samples, which were sent for testing. One tested positive and 17 were found negative; results of others are awaited.
“On Wednesday, we took one more sample of a 21-year-old woman who had come in contact with a foreign national who later went back to their country of origin. She has showed no symptoms so far, but the samples were taken and sent for testing. The 21-year-old was brought to the MMG Hospital isolation ward, but later opted for home isolation and was allowed to leave for her house,” Dr Gupta said.
