Coronavirus scare: Woman returns from Mecca with fever, flees from Bengal's ID hospital

KOLKATA: An elderly Beniapukur woman, who returned after a pilgrimage to Mecca with fever on Sunday morning, walked out of Beliaghata ID hospital leading to a nearly six-hour effort by police and health officials to convince her to return to the isolation unit. The woman wanted to get admitted to a private hospital instead of ID hospital. Sources said her condition was stable and that she would be kept under observation for a fortnight as per the protocol.
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According to sources, the woman, who had reported body temperature in the thermal scanners at the NSCBI airport, was taken to ID hospital in the morning. The woman, from a well-to-do family in Beliaghata, told hospital officials that she would get admitted to a private facility. She then walked out of the hospital. The officials then alerted health department who in turn alerted the Beniapukur cops. Police were tasked to bring her back to ID hospital at any cost. Police reached her home and managed to convince her to return to the hospital in the evening. The health department has also advised home quarantine for all her family members who have come in contact with her.
A late evening report by the health department said that eight persons have been kept in hospital isolation on Sunday. Total number of Covid-19 suspects kept in hospital isolation is 12. Six samples were collected on Sunday for Covid-19 tests — all have tested negative. Among those who tested negative for Covid-19 is a North Bengal Medical College medicine specialist. The doctor was admitted to the hospital on Saturday after his return from Spain. “The samples were sent on Saturday and we received the reports from NICED on Sunday. The report is negative and he will be discharged soon,” said NBMCH super Kaushik Samajdar.
Others admitted on Sunday are from across Bengal and have a history of travelling abroad or coming in contact with foreigners. One of the two persons from the city had travelled to Switzerland in February-end. “The other city resident had recently travelled to Darjeeling with a British citizen. After returning from the Hills, he complained of fever and cold,” an official said.