Two more suspected Covid-19 quarantined in Rajasthan

JAIPUR: Two more suspected cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) have been found in the state. An Australian national in Udaipur, while a 23-year-old girl of Sriganganagar, who had returned from Italy on February 29, were quarantined as suspected Covid-19 cases after they were found suffering from fever and cold on Sunday. However, two South Africans, who were quarantined at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital on Saturday, have tested negative for the disease.
Health authorities heaved a sigh of relief as 294 of the total of 301 samples received by the health department till Sunday morning, have tested negative for Covid-19. “Out of these, only two (Italian tourists) tested positive, while 294 have tested negative, report of five is under process,” said Rohit Kumar Singh, additional chief secretary, health department.
The Australian national has been admitted to a private hospital, where he will be quarantined. “We are keeping a close eye on his health. If his condition deteriorates, we will take samples for Covid-19 test,” said Dr Dinesh Kharadi, chief medical health officer (CMHO) Udaipur.
In Sriganganagar, a 23-year-old girl was suffering from cold and cough. “She belongs to Sriganganagar but returned from Italy recently. She came to district hospital with complaints of breathlessness. Her samples have been taken and sent to Jaipur for test,” said Dr Girdhari Lal, CMHO, Sriganganagar. A team of doctors attended to her and quarantined her. She is a student of a college in Italy.
In Jaipur, four Italians, one person each from Hong Kong, Germany, Japan and two from South Africa have already been quarantined in the past few days. “They all have tested negative for Covid-19,” said Dr DS Meena, medical superintendent, SMS hospital.
With the health department taking all possible measures to contain Covid-19 in the state, the Indian Council of Medical Research has expanded its national laboratories testing for Covid-19. It has released a list of 51 testing laboratories for the entire country. Till now, only SMS Hospital’s microbiology laboratory was conducting Covid-19 test but now among the 51 testing laboratories, three more laboratories have been allocated to the state. The laboratories in government-run medical colleges of Jhalawar, Jodhpur and Bikaner will be equipped for conducting Covid-19 test. Besides, Udaipur and AIIMS Jodhpur, will be equipped with the facility for sample collection centres.
In Jaipur, the screening for residents who come under the periphery of three kilometres of the hotel, where Italian tourists (Covid-19 positive cases) stayed, is in progress. In the past three days, health department screened 18,000 people in door-to-door survey of the area to find out influenza-like illness cases.