Punjab’s first suspected coronavirus case says no to hospital, cops called

BATHINDA: In the first suspected case of novel coronavirus (nCoV) in Punjab, a 38-year-old man from Kotkapura town who had returned from Canada via the China route and complained of some nCoV-like symptoms, refused to get admitted in the isolation ward of Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot. He only relented after cops were sent to his house to make him see reason. The man had returned from Canada via China two days ago and had a nine-hour stopover at Shanghai, 691 km away from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.
The person reported to the hospital with some symptoms on Monday. His blood sample has been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, and the report is expected by Wednesday.
Faridkot civil surgeon Dr Rajinder Badhwar told TOI that the man had returned from Canada via China and though he was screened in China and at the airport, he experienced respiratory problems and approached the health authorities. “We immediately took his sample and sent it to Pune and asked him to get admitted in the isolation ward at the medical college, but he was so scared that he declined. We informed the deputy commissioner, who directed us get him admitted at any cost as if he was found to be suffering from virus he had to be kept in isolation under complete care,” he said.
Faridkot DC Kumar Saurabh Raj said the civil surgeon had informed him about the case. “Initially reluctant to be hospitalized, the man relented. The health authorities are keeping 24-hour vigil,” he added.
Guru Gobind Singh medical college medical superintendent (MS) Dr Rajiv Joshi said, “The condition of the patient is stable. He has been kept in the isolation ward under observation. Further inference can be made only after getting the report from the NIV.”