mumbai

Updated: Jan 25, 2020 23:20 IST

Two of the three people quarantined at Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for suspected coronavirus infection will remain in isolation even though they have tested negative for the disease, the health department said. This is because a discharge policy has not been put in place for such cases. No further suspected cases have been reported in the state.

In the wake of the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus (nCoV) in China, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) quarantined three people who had developed cold-like symptoms similar to those of the nCoV after travelling to China recently. On Friday night, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune said the samples of two patients had tested negative for the virus. However, they cannot be discharged because the health department does not have a discharge policy for nCoV.

“This is the first time that we are facing this new strain of coronavirus, so we don’t have the discharge policy in place. Under the instruction of the Union health ministry, we will keep the patients for a few more days before we decide on the parameters required for discharge,” said Dr Archana Patil, additional director of health services, state family welfare bureau. “If the expert panel decides to discharge them, we will keep track of them through telephone and home visits,” she added.

BMC formed an expert team of epidemiologists, microbiologists, chest specialists and others who will be assigned to Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in case of emergencies or a nCoV outbreak. The strength of the isolation facility has been increased to 20 beds as part of precautionary measure.

The two patients cleared by the NIV are a 31-year-old marketing professional from Nallasopara and a 36-year-old IT professional from Kalyan.

The 31-year-old returned to Mumbai from Foshan in China on January 21. Although she had no symptoms when she landed, she complained of body ache and cold two days later and got in touch with public health officials. On January 23, she was moved to Kasturba Gandhi Hospital.

The 36-year-old was suffering from cold and fever when he travelled to Guangzhou in China on January 16. His condition improved after taking medication. However, he was quarantined as a precaution upon landing in Mumbai on January 22 because his body temperature was still high.

Authorities are awaiting NIV’s report for the third quarantined patent, who is a 61-year-old. He returned to the city from Hong Kong on January 9 and was admitted for observation on January 24 after developing cold-like symptoms. The state health department expects NIV’s report to arrive on Sunday. “There is no need for panic. This is being done as precautionary measures,” said Dr Padmaja Keskar, executive health officer, BMC.

On January 9, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus in Wuhan city, China. Over 800 people have been infected in China and 26 have reportedly died, leading to an advisory from the state health department cautioning people to not travel to China. Officials from the Airport Health Organization, Mumbai, are checking passengers landing in the city from China using thermal scanners to detect fever-like symptoms.