E-Paper
Don’t panic, say Agra authorities after 6 residents show coronavirus symptoms
The six people are members of two families from which two brothers recently came back from Italy, among the worst affected country with more than 2000 people infected and 52 deaths. recently.
Authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra said on Tuesday they were fully prepared to tackle the coronavirus as six residents of the city showed symptoms of the disease on Monday and brought to Delhi.
The six people are members of two families from which two brothers recently came back from Italy, among the worst affected country with more than 2000 people infected and 52 deaths. recently.
The two brothers had gone to Italy with the 45-year-old patient from Delhi, whose case came to light on Monday. All three men are related.
The Union health ministry said on Tuesday that six cases with “high-viral load” were detected during sample testing in Agra and these people have been kept in isolation at Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.
It said their samples are being sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for confirmation.
“We got information about the 13 members of two families from which two brothers who had gone to Italy recently. Six out of these 13 had symptoms of coronavirus and thus considering them highly suspicious cases, all the six were referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi,” Agra’s chief medical officer Dr Mukesh Vats said.
“The remaining seven are being quarantined at their residence. The report for samples taken of all 13 is awaited,” he added.
Dr Vats also urged people not to panic, saying they are “fully prepared” to tackle coronavirus.
“Teams are being constituted for conducting surveys and staff at the isolation ward is being trained to tackle cases suspected of coronavirus. We have enough three-layered N 95 masks and isolation wards have been created at SN Medical College and Hospital of Agra and the District Hospital,” he said.
The medical officer said amid the coronavirus scare, they are keeping a watch on people coming from certain countries, especially Dubai and Italy.
Superintendent in-charge of the District Hospital in Agra, Dr Verma, too urged residents not to panic.
Regarding the group of 19 tourists from Italy, Dr Verma said they were also tested on Monday but no symptoms were found in any of them.
These tourists had come from Rajasthan’s Jaipur where one of the members of the group is reported to have symptoms of coronavirus. He was hospitalised and his initial report was negative but as his health kept deteriorating, he was shifted to Sawai Mansingh Hospital in Jaipur.
The second report showed the Italian tourist to be positive but due to differences in the reports, his sample was sent to NIV in Pune for confirmation. The report is awaited.
Hotels and authorities at tourist sites in Agra have been asked to inform the office of the chief medical officer as soon as visitors from Italy, Iran or China arrive so that they can be screened for coronavirus infection, news agency PTI reported citing Dr Vats.
He said authorities at all tourist sites in Agra have been told to “inform the 24-hour control room about visitors from the countries where the coronavirus outbreak has been reported”.
Agra is a major tourist destination because of the Taj Mahal and a good number of foreigners come to see the 17-century monument.
