A day after a 34-year-old man admitted at Vedant Hospital in Vartak Nagar, Thane tested positive for Covid-19, 42 persons, including patients, doctors, nurses, and other staff of the private hospital have been quarantined.
Of them, seven doctors were advised to home quarantine while the remaining 35 have been quarantined in the hospital.
The 34-year-old recently returned from the USA and was admitted to the hospital from March 18 to 23 for pneumonia. He was later taken to Kasturba Gandhi Hospital to be tested for the coronavirus. After his test came back positive, he was moved to the isolation ward at Fortis Hospital.
The man’s wife was also tested and her report is pending.
Sandeep Malvi, deputy municipal commissioner of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), said, “Thirty-five people, including nine patients, 16 nurses and eight hospital staff are quarantined in the hospital itself, while seven doctors were asked to home quarantine as a safety measure.”
Most of the hospital’s medical staff reside in Lokmanya Nagar and Sawarkar Nagar, both congested areas. If any of them are infected, the virus could spread easily to others.
{{/usCountry}}Most of the hospital’s medical staff reside in Lokmanya Nagar and Sawarkar Nagar, both congested areas. If any of them are infected, the virus could spread easily to others.
{{/usCountry}}TMC has also surveyed over 150 flats in the complex where the 34-year-old patient resided, however, no one with symptoms was found. “As of now, we have established that only the wife and the hospital staff had come in contact with the patient. There is no direct contact of the person with the residents, nor did we find anyone with symptoms. We will disinfect the building, however, there is no need to seal it,” said Malvi.
Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske has asked all private hospitals to get the complete medical and travel history of patients admitted.