Coronavirus outbreak: BMC staff tracks 80K across 1,400 housing societies

Civic health staffers and para-medical staff have successfully tracked 80,000 people, who came in contact with the four corona-infected patients, living in 20,000

Civic health staffers and para-medical staff have successfully tracked 80,000 people, who came in contact with the four corona-infected patients, living in 20,000 flats in 1,400 housing societies in Mumbai and Thane. Two of them tested positive for the virus.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has diverted its staff from other departments for the task from March 12.

One patient from Kalyan was found positive on March 14 and has been isolated at Kasturba Hospital. In a search operation, his two immediate contacts were found symptomatic and underwent a test on Sunday. In another case, one immediate contact of a coronavirus positive patient along with two low-risk contacts were identified in Bhandup and kept under surveillance.

A total of 2,46,843 passengers have been screened for possible infections at the airport. So far, 498 patients have been admitted to the isolation ward at Kasturba Hospital, of which, reports of 452 were found to be negative.

Dr Daksha Shah, health officer, BMC, said, “We formed 24 teams to track all high-risk and low-risk contacts. Staff from the insecticide department is also working around-the-clock with us.”

On Monday, 20 samples were tested at Kasturba Hospital and all were found negative. The civic body has started to slot all international travellers in three categories. ‘A’ category was for people who had foreign travel history, ‘B’ for old and high-risk contacts and ‘C’ for low-risk contacts who can be home quarantined. The civic health department has formed a ‘risk profile committee’ of experts and doctors to check and assess travellers falling in B category. The committee will visit Seven Hills quarantine centre at 9.30am daily.

The civic health department has kept 11 more people at Seven Hills Hospital under isolation and deployed 24 health and para medical staff to take care of all these patients.