As per data shared by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) health department, of the 501 positive cases reported in the PMC jurisdiction as of April 17, 438 or 87% were referrals from PMCs flu centre OPDs, hospitals or detected through house-to-house surveys.
Only 50 positive cases were close contacts of Covid-19 patients and 13 had a foreign travel history.
In the cases of the deceased too, of the 44 deceased as of April 17, 36 did not report any foreign travel history.
According to Dr Sanjiv Wavare, assistant health chief, PMC, primary-level screening at various hospitals and also at high-risk areas, followed by isolation and quarantine of suspected patients has become crucial.
“Screening at a primary level helps in alleviating fear from the minds of many people who think that they might have Covid-19 and it also helps contain the spread of the virus and break the chain,” he said.
India’s apex research body, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) denies any community transmission yet. Dr Rajani Kant, scientist and head of research management, policy planning and coordination, at Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said, “We are closely watching things. We need to be vigilant, so that community transmission should not happen. But there are pockets where number of cases is more. These are identified as hotspots. But this does not mean that there is community transmission in all these hot spots yet.”
According to the PMC data, patients who have flu-like symptoms are sent to flu clinics, if the symptoms are moderate, they are referred to one of the 11 dedicated covid health centres in the city. If the symptoms are severe they are referred to one of three dedicated covid hospitals.
{{/usCountry}}According to the PMC data, patients who have flu-like symptoms are sent to flu clinics, if the symptoms are moderate, they are referred to one of the 11 dedicated covid health centres in the city. If the symptoms are severe they are referred to one of three dedicated covid hospitals.
{{/usCountry}}In case the person is negative, but has flu-like symptoms then the person is isolated at the Navle Engineering College hostel, Sinhgad; if the person is from a slum or a densely populated area s/he is advised home quarantine.
Private hospitals like Ruby Hall Clinic are also focusing on screening patients showing any signs of flu. At least 30,000 patients have been screened here.
Dr Nita Munshi, director of the laboratory and infection control department, Ruby Hall Clinic, said, “We have referred many suspicious cases post our three-stage screening to Naidu hospital to ensure that no corona patient enters the hospital premises. This also makes the hospital a safe place for other patients who come for other treatments. Till now we have sent the swabs of at least 100 patients admitted in our isolation ward to Naidu hospital.”