Fifty four staffers of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh, including 18 doctors, have been quarantined after a 6-month-old baby girl tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday.

The baby girl hails from Phagwara Punjab and was admitted to the advanced pediatric centre on April 9. She had to undergo an open heart surgery but the doctors noticed that she was having other problems.

The infant was diagnosed with a congenital heart disease with congestive heart failure. She had a ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect and other issues. She was admitted to a private hospital in Ludhiana for 36 days and was subsequently referred to PGI, Chandigarh for corrective surgery.

The infant, according to doctors, showed gradual improvement in her overall condition. However, she was found to have contacted coronavirus.

"A pre-operative test for COVID-19 returned positive on April 21. The baby was subsequently shifted to the COVID-19 facility in Nehru Hospital Extension, PGI. She continues to receive ventilatory support," a PGI bulletin said.

All close contacts of the baby are being screened.

"We are currently investigating how the baby caught the COVID-19 infection. Given that the incubation period of COVID-19 infection is generally up to 2 weeks (but can be variable), it is possible that the baby may have been incubating the infection at the time of admission to PGI," a spokesperson said.

The infant did not have any suggestive travel history or family contact so there was no pre-emptive screening.