Close contacts of 7 new cases test -ve, screening on

TNN | Apr 26, 2020, 04:02 IST

Coimbatore: A day after six police officers tested positive for Covid-19, the public health department on Saturday said 98 of their close contacts, including family members and officers in their police stations, have been tested negative for the virus.
Now, plans are afoot to put containment measures in place around Podanur and Kuniyamuthur police stations and their houses to keep in check community spread of the novel coronavirus.
Following in the footsteps of Podanur police station, Kuniyamuthur police station was closed for disinfection on Saturday. The station would function out of a nearby private marriage hall for time being.
The family members of the 20-year-old woman patient from Sirumugai have also been tested negative for the virus, according to a source. She was also tested positive on Friday.
Betting big on the next four days of complete lockdown, which they think would help break Covid-19 chain in the district, health department officials are planning to use the period to rapidly contain the spread of the virus around the places of the seven new cases that were reported on Friday.
Dr G Ramesh Kumar, deputy director of public health, said, “We have tested all the six cops’ family members and officers in Podanur police station. They are all negative. City corporation officials are taking nasal swabs from the officers in Kuniyamuthur police station and their results will be out tomorrow (Sunday).”
Health department officials are in the process of marking containment zones around each of the seven cases and taking out door-to-door screening of people, especially elderly ones and those with flu like symptoms, in those areas.
The 51-year-old railway engineer, who tested positive nearly three weeks ago, was discharged from PSG Hospitals on Saturday after he tested negative for the virus twice. A diabetic, the man from Podanur was admitted to the hospital on April 3, with breathing difficulties and fever. He was on ventilator for nine days and reduced ventilation for another two days, after which he recovered rapidly. He is the fifth Covid-19 patient to get discharged from PSG Hospitals so far.
Dr Karthikeyan, ICU head, PSG Hospitals, said, “The disease progresses fast. So, besides giving him the advised azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine, we consulted with our counterparts and experts abroad, and administered him steroids and prone ventilation to improve his oxygenation from the fifth day, which eventually helped him.