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Toddler among three of family found to be Covid-19 positive in Chandigarh
They are granddaughter, husband and son of 52-year-old woman of Sector 30, who was found to be infected on April 17
Three relatives of a 52-year-old woman who had tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday were also found to be infected, taking the total number of cases in Chandigarh to 26, the health authorities confirmed on Sunday.
The three include the woman’s 56-year-old husband, 25-year-old son and one-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, all of whom reside together in Sector 30. The three tested positive on Saturday night, said officials.
However, with two more patients recovering on Sunday, the total of those discharged has reached 13, taking the number of active cases in Chandigarh to 13. The first case was reported on March 18.
Health officials said two men who were discharged on Sunday are a 23 year-old resident of Sector 29 and a 32-year-old NRI from Canada living in Sector 33.
Meanwhile, of the seven family contacts of the 50-year-old sanitation attendant of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, who had tested positive on Friday, six have tested to be negative while one report is awaited. Eight remote community contacts of the same patient at Dhanas, where he resides, were sampled at the PGIMER on Sunday.
RAPID ANTIBODY TESTS BEGIN
The UT administration on Sunday started conducting rapid antibody testing on persons who have flu-like symptoms.
UT health secretary Arun Kumar Gupta said nine tests were conducted as per the protocol of influenza like illness during house-to-house survey. “All turned out to negative,” he said.
Meanwhile, district magistrate Mandip Singh Brar has ordered all pharmacies, including jan aushadhi shops, and doctors to maintain a record of those buying medicines for fever, cold, throat infection, flu and similar symptoms, and provide it to the director health services (DHS) on a daily basis via email or WhatsApp.
NO RELAXATIONS IN STORE
With the Union health ministry declaring Chandigarh a Covid-19 hotspot (red zone) and the entire city being designated as a containment zone, the UT administration has decided against introducing any relaxation from April 20. According to the Centre’s guidelines, some relaxations could be introduced only if there is no positive case for 14 consecutive days.
All shops except those providing essential commodities, like vegetables, grocery and medicines, will remain closed. Clinics and hospitals can open, but have to strictly follow the norms laid down by the administration and Centre. All e-commerce activity is closed except for the supply of essential commodities.
Earlier, as per the MHA guidelines, the administration had planned to allow services provided by self-employed persons, such as electricians and plumbers, besides opening of production units that require continuous process and supply chain, construction of roads and use of private vehicles for emergency services among other relaxations, which have now been ruled out.
