Two suspected patients test negative for COVID-19

Surat: Health officials of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) heaved a sigh of relief as two suspected patients tested negative for COVID-19. A 30-year-old male and 42-year-old woman were being kept in isolation at New Civil Hospital for over a week now, sources said.
“On Sunday, reports of the two patients arrived. Both have tested negative for COVID-19. No fresh cases have been reported in the city. The two suspected patients, who are not related, had visited many countries in West Asia and Far East several times in the recent past,” said Dr. Ashish Naik, deputy municipal commissioner (health), SMC.
“All schools, tuition classes and multiplexes will remain closed until March 31. We are monitoring the situation very closely. However, there is no need for people to panic,” Dr. Naik said. He informed that a total of 283 people are under mandatory 14-day home surveillance for over a week in the city. They too had arrived from abroad.
The civic body had on Saturday issued a circular to all department heads to shut down swimming pools across the city and give 100% refund to individuals and institutions who had booked community halls, party plots and auditorium till March 31. The corporation has also suspended biometric attendance for the civic staff. The civic body has set up 15-bed quarantine facility at CHC in Vesu. Additionally, 260-bed isolation wards have been set up in government and private hospitals in the city.