Most of Covid-19 positive Nanded returnees to be discharged in 2 days
Move comes under Centre’s new protocol for discharge of patients after they remain asymptomatic for three consecutive days; almost all the 1,225 pilgrims found positive are asymptomatic since April 29, say officials
In a big relief for Punjab, almost all the pilgrims who tested positive for Covid-19 after their return from Takht Hazur Sahib in Nanded, Maharashtra, will be discharged from various hospitals in the next two days.
The health department has taken the decision under the new discharge policy issued by Union health ministry, which states that if any Covid-19 symptomatic patient undergoing treatment remains asymptomatic for three consecutive days, he or she can be discharged from the hospital without conducting RT-PCR test.
“As almost all positive cases among pilgrims have remained asymptomatic ever since they were found positive after their testing between April 27 and April 29, we have decided to discharge them in the coming two days as per the new discharge guidelines,” said Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, health department’s spokesperson for Covid-19.
A total of 4,220 pilgrims were brought to Punjab between April 25 and April 30, weeks after they were stuck at the Nanded gurdwara in the wake of the nationwide lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of them, 1,225 pilgrims were found positive. However, almost all of them have remained asymptomatic. There were only mild symptoms of flu in a few positive cases found symptomatic, said health department functionaries.
‘WILL FOLLOW 7-DAY HOME QUARANTINE’
“Once discharged, the positive cases will be asked to strictly follow seven-day home quarantine as per the guidelines of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),” Dr Bhaskar said.
The discharge of pilgrims from hospitals will bring a sharp decline in the number of active cases in the state as out of 1,980 positive cases in Punjab so far, more than 60% were Nanded-returnees.
In the past two days, 52 positive cases were discharged from various districts, taking the total tally of cured patients to 223.
As per the protocol followed by the health department, the pilgrims were kept at institutional quarantine facilities and tests were done on all of them.
Those who tested positive were sent to government hospital isolation wards, whereas those found negative were kept in quarantine facilities for 14 days. In negative cases, re-testing is done if any one develops symptoms.
The health authorities have already sent pilgrims lodged in quarantine facilities to their homes as none of them developed any symptom in four-day period. These pilgrims will also follow seven-day home quarantine.
The Covid-19 infection among a large number of Nanded-returnees had given rise to a major controversy in Punjab, with opposition parties accusing the state government of not following proper procedures in bringing the pilgrims back.
