COVID-19 scare: Lithuania girl under isolation in Puri

PURI/BALANGIR: A minor girl from Lithuania was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) at Puri on COVID-19 suspicion on Saturday. After preliminary examination, she was allowed to go for self-isolation in a hotel near Puri beach.

The girl and her mother had come to Puri a fortnight back and were staying in the hotel. She has been suffering from cold, cough and fever since their arrival. Her mother took her to a private hospital on Saturday where doctors referred her to the DHH. 

However, after examining her health and travel history, the DHH authorities allowed her to remain under self-isolation. Before arriving in Puri, she and her mother had not travelled to any COVID-19 affected country. Chief District Medical Officer Dr Nilakantha Mishra said the girl has been suffering from flu for the last two weeks.

“As a precautionary measure, we admitted her to the isolation ward in the hospital. As the girl felt uncomfortable in the ward, her mother requested us to keep her under isolation in the hotel room and give her the prescribed medicines”, he informed. 

Her blood and swab samples will be sent for coronavirus test. The Puri administration had issued advisory to hotel owners, private hospitals and pathology labs to report any person, particularly international tourists, suffering from cold, cough and fever.  

Couple from Canada tests negative 

The Canada-based Odia couple which was admitted to Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital in Balangir on Friday, has tested negative for COVID-19. The couple was discharged and left for their native place Titlagarh.

However, both have been advised for home isolation and will be monitored. Their preliminary blood and swab tests were found negative but their blood samples have again been sent for further examination. 

The husband and wife had come to Titlagarh on Wednesday to attend funeral of the man’s father who died earlier this week. They travelled to India through Mumbai airport from where they took a train to Raipur. They were screened at both Mumbai airport and Raipur railway station. They took another train to Titlagarh from Raipur.

As both of them developed fever and respiratory problems on Friday, they went for medical examination at Titlagarh sub-divisional hospital.