Tour guide’s family quarantined in Noida

GHAZIABAD: A 57-year-old man from Ghaziabad ’s Raj Nagar Extension on Thursday tested positive for novel coronavirus (Covid-19). He had returned from Iran, one of the hotbeds of the outbreak, on February 23.However, in the second round of testing, his samples will also need to be confirmed as positive by NIV Pune for this to be counted in the official tally of infected Indians.The businessman, who deals in chemical products, had been suffering from fever. The administration received information about him on Monday, but health officials were able to trace him only the next day. After finding him, they took his swab sample and asked him to stay in home quarantine. When his condition worsened on Wednesday, they referred him to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi.The man’s wife and their son are in an isolation ward at MMG District Hospital. Even if their reports come out negative, they will be kept in home isolation for 28 days.Health officials are also keeping a watch on the businessman’s employees.“Besides the two family members, we have also advised three of his employees to remain in home isolation. Their samples have also been taken. The health department, along with World Health Organisation (WHO) officials, is trying to trace all those who may have come in contact,” chief medical officer N K Gupta said.Meanwhile, the family of a tour guide from Noida, who had tested positive for coronavirus, has been quarantined and will be under observation for 28 days, said health department officials. While the patient is in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, his mother, wife and his nephew reside in Sector 30. The man had taken a group of Italian tourists to Jodhpur and got infected.“There is no need to panic as the tour guide was discovered with symptoms in Delhi and contained there,” Dr Anurag Bhargava, chief medical officer, GB Nagar, said.He added that the man was not a resident of Noida. “He is a Delhi resident and works there. He used to visit some family members in Noida. We are still to find out when he last visited Noida,” he said.Meanwhile, more people were screened on Thursday at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida and Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital & Post Graduate Teaching Institute in Sector 30.Till now, there are 405 notified travellers — incoming and outgoing — in GB Nagar, out of which 35 have not been located. Ninety-nine samples were collected. Out of these, 54 people tested negative while the reports of 45 are pending. All samples from GB Nagar are sent to National Centre for Diseases Control (NCDC).Meanwhile, the Ghaziabad administration has prepared a 500-bed isolation and screening ward at Haj House. An inspection was carried by administration and health officials on Thursday.Ghaziabad additional district magistrate (city) Shailendra Kumar Singh said, “This is being done on the state government’s instructions. The ward will be ready within a week. The swab samples of people will be taken for coronavirus testing. They will be kept here 14 or 28 days, depending on the situation. In case the reports are found to be positive, they will be shifted to hospitals in Delhi for treatment.”The health department has also identified some other buildings that can be used in case of an emergency, a health official said. A review meeting was also done through video-conferencing from Lucknow.