Coronavirus: 13 suspected patients admitted to RML within a week

NEW DELHI: On a day when a third coronavirus case was confirmed in Kerala, five of the evacuees brought back from Wuhan in China and kept at a quarantine centre in Manesar were shifted to Army’s Base Hospital in Delhi after they showed symptoms of cough and cold.Officials said the five were taken to hospital as a precaution since the coronavirus infection was yet to be confirmed in any of them. “The samples of all five were sent for various tests to AIIMS. We have received the test result of one person and it is negative. The results of the other four are awaited,” they said.In Kerala, after a third confirmed coronavirus case on Monday, the government declared the outbreak a “statespecific disaster”. The tag will help government allocate more funds for preventing spread of the disease, while police will get additional powers to deal with the situation.On Monday, a 19-year-old medical student, who returned from Wuhan, tested positive for coronavirus in Kerala’s Kasaragod district. The student had flown from Wuhan to Kolkata and from there took another flight to Kochi before boarding a train to Kasaragod on January 27.In a special operation, the Indian government had over the weekend evacuated more than 600 people, mostly students, from the novel coronavirus hit areas of China.They are being housed at two quarantine facilities set up by the Army in Manesar — from where the five suspected cases were shifted to hospital — and by the ITBP in Chhawla Camp.Sources at the Base hospital said any of the evacuees who exhibits symptoms of the coronavirus infection will be isolated from the group and admitted to the hospital.“The only way to reduce the risk of spreading of the disease is by strictly screening people coming from affected areas. Also, any persons found positive for the viral infection has to be treated separately to reduce the risk of further transmission. This can be done better at this Army facility due to strict discipline followed here,” said a senior doctor at Base hospital, who did not want to be quoted. The Base hospital is the backbone for any disaster management operation in the country. It has created a full-fledged isolation ward with capacity of nearly 100 beds that can be extended further depending on requirement.In addition, Ram Manohar Lohia, AIIMS and Safdarjung hospitals have also readied isolation facilities for treating suspected or positive cases of coronavirus in NCR.RML hospital said on Monday that a total of 13 suspected patients were admitted to the hospital in the last one week.“Reports of eight patients have come negative and they have been discharged. Reports of five others are awaited,” said an official.Virologists say coronavirus is like SARS and MERS – two other viral infections that have caused outbreaks in the past in different countries. “This is a novel virus and people aren’t immune to it. Therefore, strict screening of persons coming from affected areas is the only way to control its spread. If the infection spreads in India, it may not be easy to tackle the transmission as coronavirus is a respiratory infection that can spread through air,” said a senior virologist at AIIMS.The World Health Organisation has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global public health emergency. It recommends that the general public should frequently clean hands by using alcohol-based hand rub, or soap and water. “Avoid close contact with anyone who has fever and cough. If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early and share previous travel history with your doctor,” said officials.One AIIMS doctor who has been deputed at the quarantine facility managed by ITBP in outer Delhi said they use protective gear to reduce the risk of infection. “The evacuees at the ITBP facility are happy. They are getting food in time. Also, regular monitoring of their symptoms is being done. Once it is assured that they aren’t carriers of the virus, they will be discharged,” he said.