6 from Noida who came in contact with Delhi man test negative for coronavirus

The patient from Mayur Vihar in Delhi, who had travelled to Italy recently and tested positive on Monday, was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.

Six people from Noida who had been put under observation for suspected coronavirus infection after they attended a birthday party hosted by an infected Delhi resident, have tested negative for the virus.

A view of the emergency ward of a hospital in Kolkata where people were seen wearing masks for safety from coronavirus, on Monday. (Samir Jana/HT Photo)

“Coronavirus samples taken from 6 people in Noida tested negative but they will need to be under home quarantine for the next 14 days and if symptoms develop, they can be retested again. Government and administration are keeping a watch close watch and there is no need to panic,” District Magistrate BN Singh said.

He added that the district administration has not issued any school closure order.

Two schools in Noida were shut down on Tuesday after the first coronavirus patient from Delhi was found to have come in contact with several of its students at a birthday party he attended.

“Several schoolmates of the child of a Covid-19 infected man came into contact with him at a party. We have closed down the school to sanitise it. The infected man is admitted to a hospital in Delhi,” said Anurag Bhargav, Chief Medical Officer of Gautam Buddh Nagar.

The patient from Mayur Vihar in Delhi, who had travelled to Italy recently and tested positive on Monday, was shifted to a quarantine ward at Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday night.

Fumigation is underway in both the schools and a Health Department team led by Noida’s chief medical officer visited the site, an official said.

The Union Health Ministry informed on Tuesday that six positive cases of the deadly Coronavirus (Covid-19) have been reported in India so far.

Meanwhile, more cases of suspected coronavirus have been reported from the country. While two of the suspects are in a hospital in Odisha, the other case has been reported in Himachal Pradesh.

The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jairam Thakur, however, said it’s not right to jump to conclusions. “Tests will be done, factual position will be clear only after his (suspected patient’s) reports come in,” the chief minister said.